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.

Care bear Pinata cake

Jessica was being given her birthday cake from her Godmother who said she would like it in the style of a Care bear - in particular 'Cheer bear'.

They also opted for a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. As Cheer bear has a rainbow on it's stomach it got me thinking about coloured chocolate. We therefore decided to include the surprise of making it a pinata cake.....one where a small section of the middle is cut out and replaced with goodies, in this case smarties. In order to do this, the bottom 3 of the 4 layers to this cake had a circle removed from their centre. I then stacked them as normal but filled the 'hole' with rather a lot of smarties! I then placed the intact top layer to complete the shape.

The rainbow, clouds and Care bear were all made from Renshaw flower and modelling paste - icing that sets quicker than fondant.

There is a great tutorial on YouTube to help you make the topper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NSBqVLRs0k

I don't normally follow other peoples vidoes, however when there is such an amazing tutorial out there that gives great results then it seems silly not to use it. Thank you 'Zoes Fancy Cakes'

Black cat cake

A good friend asked me to make a cake for his niece who was going to be turning 3. She absolutely loves her cat - Jeremy and he knew she would love a cake that looked like him.

In terms of features, Jeremy is black with black ears, black nose and black whiskers! This proved difficult when trying to make the cake - it helps to have colour to make features stand out. Fortunately he has golden eyes and a slight brown to the inner parts of his ears.

Jeremy also has a black collar so I used a black ribbon around the base. Luckily his tag is gold which provided some colour to stand out against the icing/ribbon. I feel that the purple message stood out well against the black icing.

According to my friend and his sister, Fearne absolutely loved this cake! Very simple, but clearly just what Fearne wanted.

Naked Wedding cake

This is my first foray into the world of naked wedding cakes and I really enjoyed it. The bride requested a 'semi-naked' design, meaning that there was some buttercream on the sides of the cake however the cake still showed through.

A mix of berries were used to go around the bottom of each tier. This provided a contrast colour against the buttercream and also helped to give a rustic feel.

The florist provided the flowers to go on the cake. These tied in with the flowers used in the bouquets, button holes and table displays. I used small posy picks inserted into the cake to arrange the flowers whilst keeping the cake edible; not all flowers are edible and by inserting the stems into the cake there is a risk of causing harm to those eating it.

The bride provided the cake topper and the rustic wooden cake board. These tied very well into the theme of the cake and enhanced the final appearance.

Flugelhorn 30th Birthday Cake

I was challenged to make a cake in the style of a flugelhorn for a friend who was turning 30. I could have opted to make a square/round cake and put a flugelhorn made of icing on the top.....but no, I decided that would be too easy! Instead, I opted to make a musical instrument case with the flugelhorn inside!

The main body of the case was made up of chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream. I carved into the top of the cake in order to create a 'groove' for the flugelhorn to sit into. This was then iced in white.

I used brown modelling paste to create the panels for the side of the case. This 'sets' harder than normal sugar paste would which helped to create a straighter edge. The lid of the case was made from a polystyrene rectangle which I iced in the same brown as the base.

The musical instrument was made from white modelling paste. I shaped it accordingly and then 'painted' it Gold. I did discover afterwards that gold modelling paste does exist - if only I had discovered that before I spend hours painting it! I then painted some more white modelling paste silver (also exists - d'oh!) after it had been attached as buttons and the mouthpiece.

The finishing touches were also made from modelling paste. I cut them to the appropriate shape and stuck them on using edible glue; the handle, locks, letters and corner coverings.

This cake proved very popular with many people asking if it was actually real! I am very pleased with the outcome of this cake.....and I have learnt about the existence of gold and silver modelling paste for future!

Golden Wedding Anniversary

For a Golden Wedding Anniversary I was asked to make a cake with the obvious Golden theme! I felt that ivory/cream was a better colour for the icing when against the Gold. It gives a 'warmer' feel.

The 'explosion' effect with the icing was made by creating a circle of icing, cutting it into 'pizza' style slices and then attaching them to the cake in a folded fashion. There are alternative ways to make this effect - by cutting the icing already on the cake. I opted for this method as it was the first time of creating this design.

A display of feathers, golden stars and a glittery '50' were placed in the centre of the folded circle. The design was finished with golden stars, writing and a deep golden ribbon.