Hello

My name is Susan and I live in Preston and this is the place to see my yummy cakes! I have had an interest in baking since I was a child as you can see from the photo:

But more recently I have finally made the move into cake making and decorating. I get satisfaction from seeing the final product. You will be able to read about my progression on this blog as well as view the most recent pictures of my cakes. One day I hope to go full time professional but right now I am starting out making cakes for friends and family. If you are interested in me making a cake for you, please feel free to get in touch. My email address is: eatcakesbysusan@gmail.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eatcakesbysusan

Polka dot wedding cake

I thoroughly enjoyed making this wedding cake, even though I was seeing spots by the end of it!

The bride had a very clear vision as to how she wanted the cake. There were 6 bridesmaids; 2 with sky blue dresses, 2 with mint green dresses and 2 with blush pink dresses. As a result, the polka dots varied in colour for each tier.

As the polka dots were a different colour to the icing on the cake which was ivory, I felt it was essential that the they were uniform . To do this I made a template on baking parchment - I use a mini roll from Lakeland that is ideal for lining cake tins. In this case it was the perfect height for the cakes. Using a quilting ruler I spaced out dots on the parchment that were half an inch apart. I used enough parchment to go 1/3 of the way around the bottom tier (12"). I then placed the parchment next to the icing (starting at the back), ensuring it was straight and then used a sterile pin to mark the cake where my dots were on the parchment. This took a good couple of hours to do.....but it was worth every minute!

The next stage was to make and colour my royal icing and then painstakingly pipe the dots onto the prepared cakes. This also took around an hour per tier - partly because I am a neat freak and partly because I struggled to get in a comfy position......being 32 weeks pregnant!

The bride had also seen some doves that she liked and requested they were made and put on the cake. I made these out of white modelling paste and shaped them using my hands and modelling tools. They were attached with royal icing.

The bride opted for real flowers on the top of the cake. I got a selection of avalanche roses, pink lisianthus and gypsophila to match the bouquet. These were placed into the cake using a discovery a few cakes back; Ingenious Edibles Safety Seal. This creates an edible coating onto the stems of flowers to allow you to place them directly into the cake when arranging.

This cake may look very simple and elegant but it deceptively hides the amount of work that went into creating the uniformity of the dots.

Ruby Wedding Anniversary

This cake may seem similar to a wedding cake I made last year. The reason for this is because the happy couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary liked the wedding cake so much that they requested a similar one for their celebrations.

The flowers were hand made using flower paste. There are peonies, roses, lisianthus and hydrangeas in white, peach and pale pink. The hydrangeas were cut and textured using a cutter and silicone mould set from Blossom Sugar Art. They were then left to dry on shaped foam pads.

The peonies were made using relevant cutters and left in cupcake cases to take shape. There are several videos on YouTube to help with this. Similarly with the roses and lisianthus - there are great cutters out there and plenty of YouTube videos to help make them.

Tractor Christening Cake

This Christening cake has a strong farming theme. The parents of Jack requested there be a red tractor on the top, to match the one on their farm. The tractor was modelled out of rice crispy cakes and iced with fondant icing. It was made on a thin cake board which had been iced in green to make it easier to transfer on and off the cake.

The fence posts were made from a mixture of fondant icing and modelling paste - this gave enough strength to hold together but was easier to work with than just using modelling paste alone.

The soil was created by taking the centre out of Oreos and then crushing the remaining biscuit.

Naked wedding cake.......with a chocolate middle!

I enjoyed making this naked wedding cake and really liked the inclusion of a chocolate middle tier. I feel it helps the white roses and red strawberries to stand out as well as providing another dimension to the cake.

The bride provided the 'Mr and Mrs' wooden sign which works well as a topper, especially when surrounded by the fruit and gypsophila.

I made a very good discovery when it came to arranging the flowers. In the past I used posy picks inserted into the cake, in order to prevent the stems from going into the cake. This time I used an edible wax called 'Ingenious edibles Safety Seal'. To use it you put the pot in the microwave to melt the wax and then leave it to cool for a few minutes. You then slowly dip the stems into the pot, coating them in the wax. This process can be repeated if a thicker layer is required. Once the wax has set, the flowers can then be pushed directly into the cake without the need for posy picks.

I found this technique much easier and feel that the result from it was better.

The board is the same one used for the last naked cake. It is a slice of tree trunk and provides and great rustic feel to the cake.

Baby Shower

A good friend of mine is having a baby and so I decided to organise a baby shower for her. I also took it upon myself to make the cake....she would have expected nothing less. (Well that's what I tell myself!)

I had been fortunate enough to see my friends nursery beforehand and so used her colour scheme and design to create the cake. The wallpaper for the top part of the walls is grey with little silver stars and white clouds. I used this design for the top tier. The stars and clouds on the cake were created using cutters.

 The bottom part of the wall in the nursery is yellow - hence the iced yellow bottom tier. My friend is from an equestrian family and so I wanted to get a rocking horse on the cake.

I used a Sugar Buttons rocking horse silicone mould from Katy Sue designs. I have to confess that I have had little experience with silicone moulds and as a result it took a few attempts to get this result. I dusted the mould with corn flour and used flower/modelling paste of varying colours to create the definition of the hair, saddle etc. It was then applied to the side of the cake with royal icing.

Winter naked cake

The trend of naked cakes continues......and I'm very glad as I love them! This one has a winter theme for a beautiful winter wedding.

The wedding took place at the stunning Bartle Hall in Preston. The Christmas tree was up, helping to set the scene.

The bride opted for a semi-naked look for the cake - meaning that buttercream was lightly 'smudged' around the side of the cake. This added a 'frosty' look but you could still see the cake and it's layers underneath.

 Among the flowers on the cake were thistles, red roses, gypsophila, red carnations and deep red roses. These tied in nicely with the floral decorations in the room.

There was the 'usual' mix of berries - bringing the deep colours to the cake. Due to the winter theme I also added in redcurrants which gave it a nice touch.

I lightly dusted the berries and flowers with icing sugar - for a light snow effect and the cake was placed on a 17" wooden board/log. I was pleased with this cake, which suited the venue and theme well.