Kami's Wedding Cake (click photos to enlarge).

Kami is special. Long story on the “why” - you’ll just have to take my word for it. This sweet girl is so in love and so happy to be marrying her best friend that she would have been smiling rainbows even if her cake had ended up on the floor. Talk about the polar opposite of Bridezilla, she has the sweetest, most laid back spirit of anyone I’ve ever seen on the day they’re to be married. I’m not exaggerating. I concluded that a just reward for her precious disposition was that her big day had to be flawless, including the cake. I REALLY wanted to knock this one out of the park. I mean, I wanted to deliver on this cake in a way I’ve possibly never wanted to deliver before.

After an initial Q&A session, Kami designed her own cake. I LOVED it from the minute it was more than an idea. She wanted 4 tiers, off white, bottom with stripes, 2^nd with scrolls, 3^rd plain with a monogram, and top tier polka dotted. We tweaked my draft just once and voila! We had our cake. (See draft HERE.)

This is the biggest wedding cake I’d ever made and it had to be delivered in pieces and set-up on site at the reception venue.  I was so nervous the night before, I literally couldn’t sleep. It was only when I finally bumped into Kami (about 3 hours before her ceremony) that everything magically fell into place – and the reason for that was because her calm was contagious. I knew that no matter what happened, in her eyes, the day was beautiful. Knowing I couldn’t screw it up for her freed me and I relaxed. It took me about 2.5 hours to put the finished tiers together (several mishaps, a couple verging on disastrous, not worth mentioning here), place the fondant pearl border, and snap a few pics (but not this one, which was taken by someone else):

I grew so much making this cake. I almost turned this opportunity down and I’m incredibly grateful that I didn’t. It was an honor and a completely humbling experience to be invited to be part of this event, on this day, for this sweet family.  To Kami and Josh, I hope your future is full of nothing but joy. Nothing but joy.

Easter Egg Cake (click photos to enlarge).

Not much else in this world makes me happier than my nieces and nephews. One of them, Talon, is five and he's such a handsome, sweet, bright, well-mannered kid. When his mom asked me to make a cake for Tal's Easter party, I was excited. Remember, I'm new at this whole cake thing, so holidays are all still a novelty for me. I wanted to do a bunny cake (really just so I could put "Hoppy Easter") (as if that's the most clever, original thing EVER) (yes, I know, cake nerd), but time wouldn't allow for a bunny cake, so I moved on to the next best thing: an egg cake. I didn't have an egg pan, so I carved a sheet cake and made it work. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? WASC with whipped vanilla bean butter cream filling and icing, covered with a few strips of fondant to dress up the egg. I tried to use "boy" colors, and fought hard to resist the urge to add some pink.  I don't think Talon approved of the daisy on the cake, but I bet the little girls in his classroom loved it! Happy Easter everybody!

Molly Turns 13 (with a tree branch themed cake)! (Click photos to enlarge.)

 Last year for my little girl’s 12^th birthday, she wanted a “simple” chocolate cake. I felt awful at the idea of making her a “plain Jane” cake when every other cake I was working on back then was getting 20 hours worth of attention... each! This year, as her 13^th birthday approached, I encouraged her to dream up something BIG that we could do to celebrate this landmark occasion. But she didn't want me to have to slave over a hot turntable all week, so she kept insisting she just wanted plain chocolate again. “Nothing fancy; don’t go to any trouble, Momma.” She couldn't be coaxed. But no, I wasn’t having that. I can’t recall my 13^th birthday, and I certainly can’t recall the cake (if I even had one?). No indeed! We were going to make a memory, by God. And we did!  We had a beautiful birthday weekend.  So many things about it were wonderful, cake or no cake. Uh, but yes, we did have cake.

When she couldn’t decide what she wanted, I decided to surprise her by using one of her most cherished possessions as the inspiration for her cake: a serving tray with bare tree branches silhouetted against a brown background that was given to her as a gift by someone she adores. I put the cake together in about three or four evenings, working at least 2 nights until the wee hours of the morning (3 a.m.-ish). But it was all worthwhile. She loved her cake and the look on her face when it was finished was PRICELESS. (But then, who doesn’t love their own birthday cake?)  Double chocolate chip cake, whipped hazelnut-infused butter cream filling and icing, covered in chocolate ganache, and decorated with homemade MMF.  Thanks to my wonderful caking friend, Lisa Randolph-Gant, for the fantasy flower tutorial earlier this week.  I couldn’t have made these floppy “scrap book”-look flowers without her.  

Sorry for the long post, but on a final note, I think karma gave us one last little gift tonight (Sunday evening, April 17, 2011), as right this VERY moment, my cake (fine, Molly's cake) is the #1 “most saved” cake of the day on the home page of Cake Central (only my favorite website in the world).  I know it’s shameful to be proud, but the #1 spot on Cake Central is a spot typically reserved only for my biggest cake heroes. Awesome!

Birthday girl with her cake.

Birthday girl cutting top of cake.  

Yes, that was cake for 50, and yes, the entire cake has been EATEN!!

Rocker Girl Birthday Cake! (Click photos to enlarge.)

This cake was based on the "Rocker Girl" party decor and invitations. I was asked to include the heart with wings and the guitar, so I kicked it up a notch and decided to make those two elements the superstars of this confection.  Cake was WASC filled with a whipped butter cream that was lightly infused with caramel, but was iced in a more traditional "crusting" butter cream. The pink stars (and pink several flowers) were covered with edible pink disco dust (one of my favorite things in the WORLD).  

Happy birthday, Charlie! Nobody "parties like a rockstar" better than a bunch of 7 year old girls!

Chocolate Ruffle Cake (click photos to enlarge)!

Everyone knows tip 104.  The 104 has been around for 100 years.  My grandmother (God rest her soul) favored the 104 when she baked cakes in the 1960's and 1970's.  I, however, do NOT like butter cream roses, and therefore, have never needed the 104 (and have never pretended to be handy with it).  Until now. 

Thanks to this fantastic video tutorial, I finally found a use for it.  You can watch the tutorial here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHYX0qXDVy0

The tutorial suggests you make your ruffles with a Swiss or Italian Meringue butter cream, but I used a traditional chocolate crusting butter cream and it worked like a charm.  Just bagged it up, and ta da!  About 20 minutes later, cake was finished and I called it a day.  (Click cake photo for a larger, better view.)

Also, don't you adore my square "milk glass" cake plate?  Thanks to my wonderful, thoughtful friend, Debra, for dropping it by for no reason at all - just as a little "happy" - just because she's a doll.  The only thing happier than this gorgeous cake plate, is this chocolate ruffle cake sitting perfectly upon it!