Presents, Presents, and more Presents!

Last week, Jenny and I had lots of orders for Christmas present cakes! It was busy, but we had a lot of fun working on these. Here are just a few of the ones we did together. These were all iced in buttercream with marshmallow fondant accents. The bows and ribbons were also made from fondant.

More Christmas Goodies!

Yesterday I made 2 cakes and some holiday brownies that were ordered for a teacher's Christmas luncheon. I was able to try out an idea I had seen for a "cup of hot cocoa" cake.

Cup of hot cocoa (6" round, 2-layer)- $25 (serves 8-10)

The hot cocoa cake is completely covered in marshmallow fondant with fondant snowmen, chocolate buttercream cocoa, and a marshmallow border.

Christmas gift (8 "square, 2-layer ) - $28 (serves16-20)

This is a chocolate cake iced in buttercream with fondant dots, bow, and tag.

Close up of gift tag and bow

Frosted brownies with holly and berries - $12/dozen

Snowglobe

Here is the snowglobe cake I made for our Christmas Cookie Party last night. It's not much different from the practice cake, but here it is. The whole cake is covered in marshmallow fondant. The borders, trees, and snowmen are also made of marshmallow fondant.

Snowglobe Cake - $38 (serves 15-20)

Snowglobe "practice" cake

A while back, I saw an idea for a snowglobe cake. Of course, I had to try it! I'm planning to make a cake next week for a Christmas party, so I thought I would try the snowglobe and see if it would work. This practice cake isn't totally complete, but you get the idea! I didn't get to finish decorating the bottom cake, but I'm planning to write "Let it snow!" and add some snowflakes. This is a ball cake, covered in marshmallow fondant, sitting on a 6 inch round cake. All the decorations are also fondant. This cake serves 15-18, so it would be perfect for a small Christmas party or get-together. I'll post the finished snowglobe cake I make for the party on Tuesday.

Fall Birthday Cakes

Here are two cakes I did this week for fall birthdays. The first one was for a friend who wanted to celebrate a few family birthdays on Thanksgiving. It is an 8-inch square and 6-inch round stacked to look like gifts. It's iced in buttercream with fondant accents, bows, and tag. I loved doing this cake in fall colors. It would also look great in Christmas colors!

Stacked Gifts - $38 (serves 16-24)

The next one was for my mother-in-law, whose birthday is next week. We thought we'd celebrate on Thanksgiving with everyone. This is an 8" round 2-layer with all buttercream icing and scroll decoration.

Fall Birthday Cake - $22 (serves 12-16)

Madison's Disco

Disco Ball - $60 as shown (serves 30-40)

My friend's daughter had a 70's themed birthday party for her 11th birthday and wanted a pink disco ball. So here's my first "disco ball" cake. This one was challenging but I really enjoyed it, and I especially loved all the bright colors! The cake is a 2-layer 10" square iced in buttercream. The disco ball is a ball-shaped cake with buttercream icing and fondant squares. The figures and nameplate are also fondant.

Baby Shower

2-Tiered "Baby" Cake - $35 (serves 15-20)

Close-up of baby and blanket

Here is a cake I did for a shower. It is a tiered 8" white cake and 6" chocolate cake with buttercream icing and fondant accents. The baby with blanket cake topper is also fondant. This was a fun one!

Shirt and Tie

Today is my dad's birthday, so I decided to try this cake for him. This cake would work for a birthday, Father's Day, graduation, etc. This is a 9X13 chocolate sheet cake, covered in buttercream, then fondant. The collar, pocket, and tie are also made of fondant.Shirt and Tie Cake- $30 (serves approx. 20)

"Candle" Cake

Fall "Candle" Cake-Approx. $35 (price and servings depend on size and design)

A picture with the candle lit

Close up of acorn border

First, I have to give credit to my friend Jan who told me about this idea. She had seen a picture of a cake that looked like a candle, so I searched and found a few pictures of some that had been done. I thought I might make one for our family Thanksgiving dinner, but I had to have a "practice round" first. This is a 3-layer 6 inch french vanilla covered in fondant with fondant leaves and acorns.

My first tiered cake

Last night, I tried my first tiered cake. It was also my first time to use marshmallow fondant (mmf), which I was able to make myself, and it tastes better than the regular rolled fondant. This is an 8 inch and 6 inch stacked (all white cake) with buttercream icing, then covered with marshmallow fondant. All accents (dots and stripes) are also mmf. This is a fun cake that would work for any occasion! It can be done in any color or pattern, or in any size! 2-tiered dots and stripes - $ 35 (serves 15-20, price includes fondant design, buttercream starts at $28)

Each tier is actually a 1-layer cake that has been cut in half and filled with icing. A 2-layer would be taller, would serve 25-30, and would be priced at $47 (includes fondant, buttercream starts at $40)

Barrel of Leaves

Barrel of Leaves - Approx. $50, depending on size and servings needed
I decorated this cake for a neighborhood get-together. I looked for ideas for fall cakes and loved the look of the leaves. Although you can't see the cake, it is a 4-layer devil's food with chocolate buttercream icing. The whole cake is covered with a fondant barrel and lots of fondant leaves. This project was very time consuming, but lots of fun!

Oval with cornelli lace

This is a cake I made for my grandmother's birthday today. It is a 2-layer oval with all buttercream icing, buttercream roses, rope border, and cornelli lace.

Oval with cornelli lace detail - $20 (serves 10-12)

Electric Guitar

Here is my latest creation. This cake was done for my brother's birthday and is fashioned after a Les Paul guitar. The cake is covered in fondant with all fondant accents.

Les Paul guitar - (serves 25-30)

Close-up of guitar body

Little Princess

This is a cake I decorated for my friend's daughter's 3rd birthday. This was also my first time using fondant. The body was iced in buttercream. The head, shoes, arms, and hands were made using fondant. The accents (bow, bracelets, etc.) were all fondant as well.

The "Little Princess" - $45 (serves 25-30)

Close-up of face and hair

Close-up of fondant arms, bracelets, and bow

Over the Hill

For my aunt's 50th birthday, I made an "Over the Hill" cake. The signs start with the birthdate, then go up to 50 at the top of the hill. This is a 9x13 cake iced in buttercream and chocolate buttercream, with a shell border.

Over the Hill - $30 (serves 16-24)

The other side of the hill shows dirt (chocolate buttercream) with (candy) rocks

Fancy Flowers

In Wilton Course 2, we used Royal Icing throughout the course to make flowers. The cake shown here was our "Grand Finale" cake, which used all of the flowers we learned to make. I also think a simple white cake using one or two of your favorite types of flowers would make a nice elegant birthday or anniversary cake. The flowers on this cake include roses, daffodils, pansies, violets, apple blossoms, chrysanthemums, daisies, and primroses.

9-inch 2-layer round, Buttercream iced with Royal Icing flowers

(Serves 18-24, Price based on number and types of flowers used)

Side view showing basketweave with rope border

Close-up of several flowers: daffodil, daisy, pansy, primrose, and violet

Rose Bouquet

After making Hayden's birthday cake, I started taking cake decorating classes. This is a cake I made in Wilton Course 1 to practice roses and basketweave. This cake is a 9-inch round iced in buttercream. Rose Bouquet- $28 (serves 18-24)

First Birthday

Here is my son's first birthday cake. This was the first cake I decorated other than simple round cakes I made for family birthdays. The cake was half chocolate and half white, with all buttercream frosting.

Baby Einstein caterpillar - (serves 35-40)

The cake below is a simple 6-inch round 2-layer cake, which is a perfect individual cake for your little one to dig into. This was the cake we used for our son's one-year photography session.

Individual cake for the birthday boy or girl