Quilted Buttercream Wedding Cake

Hi all! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!! This little number is a quilted wedding cake I delivered to the Sheraton Read House some time ago. The happy couple wanted a cute quilted pattern, but they were not especially fond of fondant. Haha... challenge time! I iced the cake nice and smooth and then, armed with only a 36-60-90 ruler and a hot spatula, I set out cutting facets into the surface of the buttercream. By cutting the "V" shape, it really made the pattern stand out quite well. There was a little math involved to get everything just so, but then there's always that, right?

This week is crazy so I'm keeping this post short. I have an upside-down groom's cake booked for the weekend, so there's a ton of prep work to do!

Toodles!

Merry Christmas from Cup a Dee Cakes!

Hi all! First off, I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas! I woke up early to find that jolly ol' Saint Nick left me some real treats under the tree! I don't know if I was THAT good!

This wedding cake goes along with the groom's cake from the last post. The Chattanoogan ballroom was decked out in full holiday trim and I thought putting the cake in front of the Christmas tree would really make it pop!

This cake is an elegant buttercream cake covered in buttercream dots, along with edible pearls and gold dragees. Te couple opted for cream cheese icing, which is SO tasty, but it weighs a TON! This was easily the heaviest wedding cake we have ever delivered in one piece.

The bride came up with the lights and the christmas ornaments that surrounded the cake. It was really a beautiful event!

A Groom's Interests

This weekend I did a couple of cakes at The Chattanoogan hotel in Chattanooga, TN. This was a groom's cake and in it, the couple wanted to really showcase the groom's interests.

This groom was really into reading, fly fishing, and the Carson Newman Eagles football (his alma mater). We decided to incorporate each of these items into the design.

This was my first "stacked book" cake. I was SO glad that I didn't attempt this BEFORE finding out about modeling chocolate. It made it SO much easier to make the book covers and the pages.

This was also my first helmet cake. I actually went out and bought a helmet for reference. And I was glad I did! It really helped me capture the shape and the spirit of the helmet where I think a picture just wouldn't have cut it.

Merry Christmas to all the readers of my blog. I have discovered so many wonderful friends and ideas through my blogging and I feel really good when I do share with you, so expect more in the future!

UPDATE: I just heard back from the event manager at the Chattanoogan and he said that the photographer couldn't find the groom's cake to take photos of it. Not because it was missing, but because he didn't think it was cake!! Event staff kept telling him it was the books and helmet and he kept yelling back "There's no cake around the books and helmet!" AWESOME!

Beautiful Cakes, Beautiful Pictures

Last December, Chad and I made a New Year's Resolution to learn more about photography and to take better pictures of our cakes. We bought a better camera (a Nikon D60), watched several Magic Lantern instructional DVDs, and practiced by taking hundreds and hundreds of shots, sometimes of just one cake!

But sometimes things just work out, the planets just line up perfectly... beautiful cake, great location, and ideal camera settings. When we went back to look at these pictures on the camera we were very pleasantly surprised with the results.

This cake was all buttercream, decorated with just the couple's monogram and a fresh flower bouquet. My awesome brother made another of his soon-to-be-famous stands (since I couldn't find any hexagonal stands) and the location, the mother of the bride's house, was very elegant.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Candy Cake!

There's something just really fun about decorating a cake with candy, right? I think that's why I have always wanted to make gingerbread houses. Occasionally, I get to make a birthday cake where candy is the main theme.

I enjoy selecting the candies and thinking about the different and creative ways I can use them. The "8" is lined with gummy bears on both sides of gumpaste. I thought it turned out really cute! I spent a good searching through the bulk candy bins at The Fresh Market to find just what I wanted!

I did have a bit of a problem with the Twizzlers and Rainbow sour strips not wanting to stick. A little extra buttercream wrangled them in though!

As always, thanks for stopping by and check back on Friday for our next installment. I promise it will be a wedding cake!

Are you ready for some Football Cake?

I must admit that I'm not a big football fan, but I am very proud of the way this cake turned out! I made this cake some time ago for Mitchell, who is 1/3 of a set of very sweet 8 year-old triplets.

The cake "field" is mostly buttercream, but I covered the football in fondant for a more realistic look. I made the 8 out of gumpaste and embedded wire so that it would slip into the cake very easily.

I hope you enjoy seeing birthday cakes here as well as wedding cakes.

Enjoy your weekend and don't forget... only 2 weeks until Christmas! Let's finish up those last minute gifts!!!

Vendor Spotlight: Lindsay Street Hall

Last night Chad and I visited Lindsay Street Hall in Chattanooga, TN. It's located right beside Bessie Smith Hall at 901 Lindsay Street. The Crisps have spent the last 3 years renovating the 100 year old church and it is absolutely gorgeous. It would make a wonderfully sweet location to get married!!

Besides hosting traditional events, they also feature musicians several times throughout the week. Last night was jazz night and they were really swingin'! Thursdays are singer-songwriter nights and every other Sunday they host "Pickin' in the Pulpit". $15 gets you brunch and some great local bluegrass talent. They even have a cash bar. The next one is on December 20. starting at Noon. Don't be surprised if you see us there!

For more information give them a call at 423-755-9111 or check out their Facebook page.

Rubber Ducky Cake

Henry was another recipient of one of our awesome cakes. Henry was turning the big "Oh One" (01) and really like his rubber ducks. So we built him a cake with rubber duckies on it. We used ducky chocolate molds to make all the ducks and painted on the details with petal dusts. The cake was mostly buttercream, with fondant accents (like the dots, the waves, the border, and the letters). The "soap bubbles" were all piped buttercream dots. I thought the effect turned out very nicely.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The World is in your Grasp, Kaben!

I met Kaben's Mom at a bridal show recently and the first words out of her mouth was that "her son was a rock star!". Man, she wasn't kidding either! Kaben was turning one and her Mom, Tara (owner of A Silverware Affair), was very specific about the cake she wanted for her son. She wanted a cake that reflected the feeling that the world was within his reach and that all the world was his oyster (lower left hand corner of the cake).


I must admit that my "globe" is non-edible... it's a styromfoam ball covered with fondant with royal icing continents.

This cake also features another of my brother's awesome cake stands. This stand features acrylic walls and is waterproof, so it's the perfect fish tank that also holds your cake. There is a battery operated LED light in the lid that lights the whole thing up. It's very cool and Kaben seems to really enjoy it.

Wedding Alternative - The Cannoli Tree

From time to time I get a bride that's looking for something different; an alternative for those that just don't care for cake (GASP!) or just want something completely outside the box. Some opt for a cupcake tree. This couple still wanted the traditional wedding cake (see the little basket weave number in the background) but wanted something special on their wedding day. The groom was a HUGE fan of cannolies so we made up a few hundred of them and put them on our cupcake tree stand. We lined the platters with mini chocolate chips which along with being super tasty, also helped cradle the cannolies. A small 6 inch cake was the topper with a little ceramic "just married" car the bride and groom provided. The couple was very happy with their cannoli tree