Sugar Dress Pink Lace Cake

I have tried so many lace making products that I almost gave up.  When SugarVeil came out, I thought it was cool but all the mats were kind of tacky (just my opinion). It really did take a while for some better mats to be developed but they are expensive.  I have used SugarVeil in a piping bag so that I could pipe onto parchment with a complicated pattern underneath.  Once dried, I could pick it up and adhere it to the cake.   I can be a real chicken when piping black icing on a white cake!  The thing I don't like about SugarVeil is that it takes a while to dry and it dries out very quickly.  Keep your finished pieces wrapped well in cling wrap or it will be very brittle and fall apart. 

When I saw a video on Icing Inspirations about their new product, Dab, I bought six!  It looked so easy, is ready immediately and they said it stayed flexible.  I tried so many times but I could not get the STUFF to cooperate.  It is really hard on your hands! I still don't know how to make that product work.

Now I have found Sugar Dress.  It is easy to mix, I've even done it by hand. You can speed the process in the oven and it stays flexible for a long time. It is also very strong so when you take it out of the molds it stays in one piece.  It's a little pricey, but so are the two mentioned above.  You can find it on Amazon, so that is good for Amazon Prime members because free shipping!

The mat from this cake was purchased from All About Cake Art.  "Virginia" is the name of the mat and it's $48.50

They have some pretty ones.  I've also found several mats on Etsy that are much cheaper but don't always come in the sizes promised so read the reviews. 
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GLOBALPAFMOLDS
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RomanticCraft

Once Upon a Time

Upon upon a time, and I do mean a LONG time ago, I got an order from a client that wanted a castle cake.  She was on a very limited budget, so she decided on a castle shaped sheet cake.

Now granted, my little business was still very new, and I wasn't as experienced as I am now, but I also didn't have any other orders that week.  So I worked extra hard on her cake, and even had my friend Rita help me with it.  It's certainly not perfect, but at the time it was probably the most difficult cake I had ever made.

And then the big day came; pick-up day.  The customer came in and we basically unveiled it like it was a new line of shoes!  And she said "Hmmm... that's nice".  What - nice?!?  I charged you for a basic sheet cake and I gave you this 3D castle cake!  That's got to be better than "Hmmm..." right?

I was SO crushed, but I still give clients a little extra from time to time.  You just have to realize that not every customer will be wowed by your work, even when you've given them way more cake than what they were expecting.  To us it's our livelihood, the outlet for our artistic passions, but to some it's just a birthday cake.

Have a great week!

Our Most Popular Display Cake Ever!

This display cake has long since served its usefulness, but at one time I carried this cake to so many shows and it always got rave reviews.

I initially made it because I wanted to play around with a wonky cake and I wanted to play around with a hot pink / lime color scheme.  Then I sold some cookies at a small art show (gee, that was a LONG time ago) and I brought it along.  Everyone wanted to know more about it, and I got lots of cake orders just because I brought that silly dummy cake along.

About a year later I did my first bridal show and even though I didn't think it resembled a wedding cake in the slightest, I brought it along anyway.  And I had brides raving over it again!!  Several said that it was the perfect cake for their wedding, although none on them wound up picking anything like it when we designed their cake.

That's when I learned that you should always bring a real attention getting cake with you to any show.  A bride might want a simple ivory cake with swiss dots, but seeing one won't necessarily get her into your bridal booth.

Think of it this way - the road is full of Hondas and Fords, but people line up to see monster trucks or the Batmobile at an auto show!  Have an awesome week!

Pirate Princess Birthday

If you have read my blog even on a semi-regular basis, then you've probably heard me mention my good friend Amanda from Divine Designs.  You probably haven't heard about her awesome daughter Kaeley, though.  She is such an angel, and she has a style all her own!

When I first talked to Amanda about Kaeley's cake, Kaeley's first cake ideas were "Monster Truck Princess" or "Pirate Princess".  How can you not get excited about either of those ideas?!?  As you can clearly see, we went with the Pirate Princess.

I got a sample of the plates that would be used at the party and made a modeling chocolate skull and crossbones topper using it as a reference.  The rest of the cake was decorated black, gray, and light pink accents on a hot pink buttercream base.

We also made some sugar and fondant gems for her birthday "loot" and I piped her name in bone letters.

All in all, I thought it turned out really cute and I'm sure that Kaeley was the prettiest pirate princess ever!

Cupcake Themed 1st Birthday Cake

I stay so booked up with wedding cakes that it's a rare occasion that I get to do a birthday cake anymore.  There are times when I'm under booked, or I owe a favor to one of the many wedding vendors that help me from time to time and I get to do one.

I had fun making this little birthday cake for one year old Wynn!  I iced the cake nice and smooth with pink buttercream and then went to town with the fondant accents.  I cut out the cupcake shapes and the polka dots, and even made a gumpaste plaque and #1 for the second tier / smash cake!

And it was the first time in a while I have had the chance to make "doomies" for the cake.  That's the fondant balls on the wire for those of you new to my blog.  I;m sure they have a real life bakery term, but we've just always called them "doomies".  I don't know why!

Have a great weekend!  I hope you have all your Christmas / Holiday shopping done by now!