Sweet Sixteen Birthday Cake

This past weekend I made the cutest sweet sixteen for a young woman in Chattanooga.  I worked closely with her Mom to get a list of all her favorite things so we could surprise her with this grand birthday cake!

Our birthday girl is on the rowing team, so I made a replica of her rowboat in her school's colors.  The rest of her cake followed a salmon and turquoise color scheme.  Does anyone besides me have a problem mentioning salmon and cake in the same sentence? ;-)

I made her favorite shopping bag, and even a set of car keys, something every s16 year-old wants, but I had the most trouble with the birthday girls' pup!  I initially starting molding the dog using Fondarific modeling chocolate, but I had to scrap it.  It was just a little too wilty and wouldn't hold its shape the way I wanted.  I made a quick batch of real modeling chocolate and that worked much better. 

Thanks to everyone that stops and reads my blog; I enjoy telling you my tales in the cake trenches.  Friday is Valentine's Day, so hug someone you love!!

Golden Globes Red Carpet Birthday Cake

 

 I really love award season! The dresses, the hair, the jewels and oh, the awards. It all starts tonight with the Golden Globe awards! I got a last minute birthday cake request from a favorite long time customer. I was so happy she wanted a cake to match her Golden Globes party theme! I was asked to include the "Happy Birthday..." Inscription and use a red and gold color scheme. The cake was supposed to be a simple 9" round, but when I realized it was Mary Margaret's 16th birthday, I had to do more.

I choose an oval cake so that I had a flat front for the carpet to be draped. I made the stars out of a golden/spice mustard color and just painted the front with a gold glaze to make them sticky. I then sprinkled lots of edible gold disco dust. You could also do this by wetting the stars with a little bit of water so they are tacky.

The film was all Fondarific. I made a big round middle and made a ribbon of black with some side detail by using a ticking wheel . I cut a few squares out of ivory and drew some squiggles to add a little details. The Fondarific helped because of the added work time,I was able to manipulate the "film" so that it didn't crack and break.

For the spotlights, we just used black modeling chocolate and used a large diameter dowel to hollow out a space to drop the light inside. We let this firm up a little and cut a hunk off the bottom so they sit at an angle. We added a few strips and various poked holes for a little detail. I thought it was a cute, small way of adding some fun into this red carpet ready cake!

Items I used to create this cake: 
American Gold Disco Dust
Ateco 6-Piece Graduated Star Cookie Cutter Set
Fondarific Buttercream Fondant Black
Fondarific Buttercream Red Fondant
Edible Image Paper
FMM Sugarcraft Ribbon Cutter & Stitcher
Mini Party Lites

FULL DISCLOSURE:  As a member of the Amazon Affiliate program, I receive a small commission if you buy a product from the links on my blog.  I actually own the products I recommend and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Megan vs Morgan - A Tale of On Site Repair

So only a couple of weeks ago I was telling you about my cake emergency kit and about all the things I did to make sure everything is perfect before I leave the shop.  You all remember that right?  Well, it would seem I jinxed myself.

I made this sweet 16 cake this past weekend.  It looks great right?  Except somewhere between reading the order and cutting the letters for the cake, some how Morgan's cake became "Megan's" cake.  I don't know where the mix up happened, and that's the point of this post - none of that really matters when you get to the event and something's wrong with the cake.

So I can tell you to read through those orders thoroughly multiple times, but the more important lesson is how I fixed it on site.

As soon as the mother told me the name was wrong, I started thinking of ways to fix things before she even finished her sentence.  I told her very confidently that we would take care of it and make it right.  The venue was an hours drive (round trip) so that was my LAST option.  I had also cut a second set of name letters for the back of the cake.  The cake was against a wall, so I removed the back set of letters.  I had covered the cake with sanding sugar to give it a frosted effect and I had also sprinkled the cake board with it too.  I took a couple of pinches and sprinkled it where the letters had been .  The back now looked great.

OK, so letters I took off are now what I have to work with to fix the front.  I  cut the "e" and fashioned it into an "o".  That worked well.  And then there's that extra "n".  Cut it at just the right place and it becomes an "r".  Alright, now I have the letters I need.  From there I swapped the old "e" with the new "o" and moved the "gan" over just a smidge to fit in that "r".

All that smooshing and moving took a little of my silver luster dust off some of the letters.  They looked a little mottled.  I didn't have any extra silver luster dust in my kit, but I had my small bottle of PGA, a small paint brush, and some (now) extra silver letters that weren't going to be used.  I put some PGA on the brushed and scrubbed the extra silver letters to collect of that precious silver dust.  Then I used this to paint over the letters, which evened things out pretty nicely.

So how did it turn out?

Not too bad, huh?

Now I fully realize that luck and ingenuity was on my side that day.  Things could have turned sour very quickly and these types of situations should certainly be the exception and not the rule.  But it's SO important to know what can go wrong, and what you would do if it did.

As always, I appreciate each of you that stop by to read my little 'ol blog - Have a great week!

... and Happy Birthday MORGAN!
 

Wonky Sweet 16 Birthday Cake

Last weekend I had the pleasure of making a Sweet Sixteen cake for Maranda in Dalton, GA.

It's been a while since I have made a wonky cake, They're big fun to make, and they look impressive. 

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but when I make a wonky cake, I carve out a well for the second tier in the spot it will be placed on the first tier.  That way, the cake will sit flush and keep the proper center of gravity.

And since the tiers wind up being higher than my normal (already tall) tiers, I add a cake board in the middle of the tier for extra added stability.

Once everything is carved, fitted, and stable, just add on fondant accents, ribbons, and your gumpaste bow loops!

Have a great weekend!!

Sydney's Sweet 16 Cake

When I started selling cakes, I only made birthday cakes until I felt confident enough to make a wedding cake.  I think I made one wedding cake my first year in business and I was a nervous wreck! 

Now, it's the total opposite as I only do a handful of birthday cakes each year and they tend to be freebies to vendors or friends.  This cake was for a photographers daughter who loves to bake and came to visit me when they picked up the cake.  She was so sweet and genuinely interested in talking to me and seeing my kitchen (unusual for a teenager).  Had I known, we could have made it together!  

When I get a birthday cake order from a friend or vendor, I take the order like they are any regular customer.  I try to get an idea of what they want, size, and budget.  That way I can decide if I want to gift the cake or discount it.  I read on Earlene Moore's website one time that she does this with her family and wedding cakes.  She said that in her experience, if you tell people something is going to be free, they tend to take advantage of your generosity, whether intentionally or not.  In Earlene's case, in the beginning they picked the most expensive cake with large amounts of gumpaste flowers and she learned her lesson.  Now, I've never had that happen to us but it's because I took her advice from the beginning. 

I don't think any of my fellow wedding professionals expect a free cake.  That's not why they come to me.  I have always charged, but now if I can afford to, I like to repay the people that send me business and talk so kindly about me to brides.  Truth is, I would do this all for free if I could, as would Chaddy.  We really do enjoy all aspects of this business.  I'm really not blogging about this cake am I?  Well, sort of... right?  My point is that no matter what you "do" or "sell" don't let people take advantage of you by accident.  Be up front from the beginning by quoting a price or saying that you can offer a discount but can't work for free.  You never want to be in a position that you are resentful or a friend/colleague is mad.  Cakes are mostly time, but time IS money!

So that you got a little something "cakey" out of this I'll tell you how I made this cake.  Go to YouTube and type in "buttercream ruffles" or something similar.  There are many videos that show this new and popular technique.  It was super easy but used a lot of buttercream.  I used a BIG rose tip, the #127.  The "flowers" are just gumpaste circles that I thinned and ruffled the edges with a ball tool on a foam mat.  Real easy, just try it!  I let them dry in different size cups/flower formers so that they would have some variation.  Glued the circles together with dab or water and added pearl centers with a dot of buttercream.  Since there was no "flat" surface I choose to do the birthday girls name on the little circles floating on the edge.  It's not like you can pipe a name on top of these ruffles and it look like anything.  I'm tired of plaques and banners on my cakes, so voila!  Circles!  I know it's not all that, but sometimes you have to "embellish" your blogs!  :)

Have an awesome weekend!

Swirly Sweet Sixteen Cake

I made this cake for a sweet sixteen party in Dalton, GA.  I have done this birthday girl's cakes now for several years.  Her Mom gets a local artist, Paula Gregg, to make a topper for the cake.

I then get to make a cake to accompany the cake!  It's always a fun challenge to create something that complements her artwork.

I took a picture at the venue with the topper installed, but the picture came out completely blurry :(

Have a great weekend and don't forget to register for the Money Cake giveaway.

Wonky Blue Polka Dot Cake

Things definitely come in waves here at the bakery.  And lately, everybody that calls wants a wonky cake.

Maredith was turning sixteen and needed a special cake to celebrate the occasion.  She picked this cake off my website and changed the colors a bit

I went to town on it, carving it and covering it with fondant, while Chad was busy making bow loops, polka dots, and cutting out the 16.  We put it all together and I even accented it with some fondant ribbon roses.

I was pleased with the color scheme and thought it came out quite cute and whimsical.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Sweet 16 Cake

It's been a while since I did a Sweet 16 cake, and I had big fun making this one! Sam and Kelsie were having their big bash together, and I got to provide the cake!

This one was fun all the way around. Tilty-wonky cake with swirlies, harlequin pattern, and funky retro circles. Some fun little hot pink fantasy flowers made everything really pop!

Discussion question for all the bakers out there: You'll notice the crystals on the curled wires (sometimes we use fondant balls on the end). I know I'm not the first to think of or use these, but do they have an official bakery name? Around the shop we just call them crystal (or fondant) "doomies".

Well, y'all have a great week, K?

Football and Cheerleader Cake

I recently did a cake for a football player and a cheerleader that were both celebrating their 16th birthday. I have been working on my figure modeling skills, so I got out my Debbie Brown book, my modeling chocolate and I went to town making those little cuties! I had such a blast making this cake and was even more stoked when my customer asked me if I might possibly blog about it! I enjoy writing and I really enjoy getting comments and followers, but to have someone request that their cake be blogged about was exciting!!

Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you all have a great weekend!