Skateboard Cake

A friend of mine came to me and asked for a birthday cake for her son.  When discussing ideas, she mentioned that her son likes skateboarding.  I decided to make a skateboard cake instead of taking the easy route and making a sheet cake with figurines on it. 

This took a bit of research.  I wanted the cake to be as realistic as possible so i needed to know what wheels and trucks look like. I decided to use Rice Krispies Treats (RKT) covered in fondant. 

Prior to assembley, I added HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY to each wheel in place of a brand name.

Now that the hard part was out of the way. it was time to assemble the cake.  I used a 1/4 sheet cake and 1 9" round cake cut in half. 

I carved the rounds a bit to give the allusion of the ends being curved down as if the board we upside down.  Then it was time for icing and fondant.  I made a batch of Marshmallow Fondant (the fondant of choice for children's cakes since it tastes so much better).
 











I used an edible metallic spray paint to make the trucks look metal. assembled the trucks and wheels using dowel rods and royal icing.  Then added other fondant details. Finishing it off with a 7 in the middle.

I was so nervous about it falling apart, but it held up like a champ.  Franklin loved it and had a great birthday!!

ChocoCheeseBerry Cake

It's been a while sine i've posted anything so now i'm playing catch up with my cakescapades.
First up, the ChocoCheeseBerry Cake.  A friend of mine requested this cake, little did i know it would be a very tall order.  essentially it is a 3 layer cake, a layer of cheesecake sandwiched between 2 layers of chocolate cake.

This was my first time making cheesecake, which already made me nervous, especially since i don't eat cheesecake so i had no clue what to expect it to taste like... after waiting for ingredients to soften and come to room temp, baking, and cooling a cheesecake takes about 2 days to make. little fun fact i didn't know about.  

the easy part was the chocolate cakes. after all the cakes were done, i made a batch of chocolate ganache, and i began layering. The layers went like this; chocolate cake, ganache, cheesecake, ganache, chocolate cake.  After it was asssembled, i covered the cake with the remaining ganache and added crushed graham crackers around the outside. 

To top the cake, i decided to use fresh strawberries. i cut them in half and assembled them on top of the cake.  I used the remaining strawberries to make a syrup to drizzle on top.  For a finishing touch, i piped whipped chocolate ganache around the top.

and VIOLA! 

 i was extremely pleased with the way it turned out. my friend was as well. it was a perfect dessert for his anniversary dinner. and now i have another cake to add to my repertoire.

This cake is available for order and is a delicious addition to any dinner party or event!

My First Marshmallow Fondant Experience

So, the other day I made my first batch of Marshmallow Fondant, or MMF as those of us in the cake decorating community so affectionately call it.  MMF has 3 ingredients, marshmallows, water and powdered sugar. Well 4 ingredients if you count the shortening.  As simple as it sound, it is a lot of work.  Huge sticky mess, and what feels like hours of kneading.  But in the end, once it all came together, I was very pleased.  MMF was even more rewarding when I went to cover my cake.  It rolled out beautifully, transferred from the counter to the cake with not tears or cracking, and didn't dry out while I was smoothing and trimming.  And bonus, tastes like marshmallows!!!

I'm sold on MMF.  Still love Satin Ice, but MMF will be my go-to fondant :)

Upcomming Cake Show

So, I have decided to enter my first cake show, The Cake Decorators of Tidewater 27th Annual Cake Show.  I'm not sure what the prizes are but I'm going to enter anyway.  There are 4  categories in the Beginner's Division that I can enter: All Occasion/Novelty Non-Tiered, Buttercream, All Occasion/Novelty–Tiered, Special Theme (Scrapbooking Memories).  I'm just not entirely sure what I'm going to do and which category I'm going to enter, but i still have time to plan.  Registration is due in September and the show is in October.  Its $25.00 to enter, $7.00 for the first cake and $3.00 for each additional cake entered. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do for each cake but I have time to figure it out.  There will also be demonstrations and classes with Colette Peters, Beth Parvu, Kim Morrison, Janet Brown, & Mary Jo Dowling.  I haven't gotten all the information on what classes will be offered but I'm definitely going to take one or two. So, I'm pretty siked about this.  With that being said, in the upcoming months i will be posting updates, sketches, ideas, and general frustrations. :)

Caking

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I'm going to be using this to document my adventures in cake.  I'll post also how-to's, the occasional instruction, and some tips that help me along the way.  I'm just starting out so mistakes are bound to be made, but comments are welcome and greatly appreciated.