U.S.S. Dean

For one of my Boss's birthdays, I decided to make a cake.  He is into sailing, so I tried to figure out something to do with that.  I had a hard time figuring out how to make a 3D boat out of food, without spending a million hours on it.  So, I ended up running to the store and looking for a toy.  I found this cute little boat.

I just did variations of blue for the water and put in a little island on top with brown sugar.  However, it wasn't until I was putting on the boat when I realized that I was putting the boat on the island, which makes no logical sense.  Oh well.  I secured the boat with a dowel and added a small sale.

The cake was chocolate with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting.  It was really tasty and I was proud seeing I didn't dedicate much time.

Cake Balls

My first time making Cake Balls was a huge hit (I had previously made cake pops for Christmas).  I made Red Velvet for my Boss's birthday.

So, I made them again for Boss's Day.  I made Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, Chocolate with Chocolate frosting, and Vanilla with chocolate and vanilla frosting.  They were another big hit.

I put them in these glass containers I found at Hobby Lobby and whipped up a cute little tag on my Cricut and it instantly became very impressive.  I put a little bit of tissue paper at the bottom of the containers so they wouldn't stick.

These cake balls I made by hand and varied the sizes.  I do have a cake pop maker by Baby Cakes, but when you do them by hand and roll in all the frosting, they taste so much better.  Very moist.  If you don't know how to make Cake Pops/Balls, I recommend "Cake Pops" by Bakerella.  She's the best and I read her book, which is how I learned.

Easter Egg Basket

As a donation for a Baseball group, I made an Easter Basket Cake.

It’s German Chocolate with Coconut-Pecan filling.  Chocolate Buttercream for the basket weave.

Then, it’s green colored coconut for the grass and peeps and jelly beans.  It was really simple and took no time at all and came out really cute.

March Madness

Since the start of this year I have been very busy with other crafts and things that I'm involving myself with.  Honestly, I have too many crafts on my plate, so I have a hard time balancing them.  I just go from project and project.  There haven't been too many birthdays or things I need to make cakes for, so that has taken the back seat.

For March, I did want to make these cute little Pots of Gold that I saw on Makes and Takes.  They used pipe cleaner, while I used ribbon, but it's the same effect and a little easier.  I thought they were so cute and simple.  Just perfect for gifts.

Missionary Cake

I took a "Tall Cakes" class at JoAnns to learn how to stack cakes.  So now I can easily do wedding cakes.  This didn't turn out perfect, but it was for class.  However, I did use it for my cousin's mission farewell.  It is suppose to look like paints with pinstriping on the bottom, a belt, dress shirt and tie.  It also has a missionary tag and RWH means Return With Honor.  Overall, it was pretty good and I was quite happy with the elements.

Inside, the top tier is Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, middle tier is German Chocolate, and bottom tier is Chocolate with Strawberry filling.

Happy Holidays!

For a Holiday cake, I decided to do chocolate with mint filling.  For the filling, I chopped up Andes mints and it was so delicious!

For decor, I tried a rope border that was new for me.  The rope work came out much better then my dots and even my shell border on the bottom.

I did better with the writing, but I should have taken the time to mix in a little piping gel to make it smooth.

For the top, I made cake pops for the first time!  I have an autographed book by Bakerella that my mother got me.  The pops are actually much harder than I expected them to be.  You have to be very fast when you work with the candy coating.

I just loved the cake pops once the hard work was over.  They were made out of red velvet and they were so cute!

Giraffe

A coworker was having a birthday and I asked for some help with ideas.  I asked for his different favorites.  He said his favorite animal was Giraffe, so I thought I'd try it.

The cake itself is chocolate with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream.  For the Giraffe, he is made of cereal treats, wrapped in fondant.  Around the cake is chocolate!

I had a lot of fun working with the cereal treats trying to figure out how to get them to work with me and how to assemble the pieces together.

He sure isn't perfect, but I had a lot of fun with this one and he was so delicious!

Finding Inspiration

I'm now that person at the office that makes all of the birthday cakes.  I wanted to make something that my boss would enjoy, but since he is blind certain creations I would make wouldn't mean anything to him.  So, I searched for inspiration of something I could do that he could enjoy.

There is a sculpture in our lobby that a client and friend made for my boss.  It's blown glass and each piece is different and unique.  You are suppose to be able to touch each objection and "see" all the differences in each piece.

I decided to use this for my inspiration for the cake, so that no matter what piece of cake my boss got, he could enjoy it.  In starting the cake, my lily-like creations weren't dry in time so I was unable to use them.

The cake is as chocolatey as you can get, since that is his favorite.  All of the decorations are made out of fondant.

I love this cake because it is so different and there is so much to look at.

Teacher Appreciation

Our primary had a Teacher Appreciation dinner and I offered to make cake.  I tried to make a tiered cake.  I will still need to work on it, but it worked out alright.

The cake was chocolate and vanilla for one and vanilla and vanilla for another.  My husband helped a lot with this since the cakes seemed to not want to work with me.  Overall I think they turned out alright.

I loved the little apple out of fondant with a chocolate candy for the stem.

Store Bought

For the final of Cake Decorating Basics, I had to decorate a cake using ribbon roses.  I HATE ribbon roses.  I don't like anything about them.  I did pass the class, but when I went home I did classic Wilton roses.

The cake is simple as far as the decorating.  I wanted it to look store bought or good enough to buy in a store.

The cake itself is the Coca-Cola Cake.  For this cake you need Coca-Cola and marshmallows.

Inside I had cherry filling, to make it a Cherry Coke cake.  It was interesting.  I think I need more practice in cooking with the marshmallows since I didn't know how to work with them.  Overall, it was a good cake.

Decorating Basics

Now that I’ve passed the second Wilton course, I thought I should go back and do Basic’s with the instructor I enjoyed.  However, it would be my last since she doesn’t teach Fondant & Gum Paste or Tiered cakes.  I’ll have to do that on my own.

For basics everything started to make sense!  I had been missing out on helpful quick tips and things that save a lot of time.  This is one of the cakes we made using a #12 tip.

We were suppose to trace the design and do one, but since things were finally clicking, I free handed the fish and made a coral design.

This cake isn’t nearly as impressive as the Rose cake, but know that it made me proud.  I’m so glad that I finally have learned some basics and can do things that every cake decorator should be able to (like make dots!).

Flowers & Cake Design Course

I loved the Flowers in the Wilton class.  I learned roses, violets, primroses, daffodils, lilies, and more.  I worked hard each night after class to perfect them and really worked out my forearms.

When it came time to do the final class, I was ready and had built up an inventory of flowers.  I made a white cake with raspberry filling.

Then I did chocolate buttercream for the basket weave.

All together I loved this cake.  I could improve with my color coordination, but I was so proud of this cake.  I absolutely love it and think it’s great.

And, I even passed the course!