Come Fly With Me...

A Butterfly Cake for Emma

Sometimes life comes at you fast. You wake up one morning and you realize, oh man, I was supposed to do something this weekend. And sometimes that something is actually quite big... like your baby's first birthday.

With the hustle and bustle of life, that's exactly what happened to a friend of mine. She realized that in the midst of crossing her t's and dotting her i's, she had forgotten one important aspect of her party planning - the cake!

So when she asked around the office if anyone knew someone who "did cakes", I laughed. It's not that I don't advertise it, I just kind of keep a little quite about my cake making. I often doubt myself on whether I have time, or if it will come out the way a person expects it. So I don't really offer. But, for a friend in need? No question.

I asked her to send me photos of idea she had, and I'd come up with something. Since Emma's room is all purple and green with butterflies, we decide that would be perfect. So I cake up with a sheet cake for the adults to eat and one small round cake that Emma can "smash into" - as every child should have that cake face look on their first birthday.

And while it was a stressful bake (I had started after working late on a Friday night), I am so glad that I had the experience of helping out a friend in need and seeing that beautiful little girls face smiling full of cake.

Happy birthday, doll!!

 

 

Star Light, Star Bright...

The bridal shower theme this weekend was based on Vincent Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' painting.

The ambiance was romantic: white lights strung across the pavilion, drapery for a vintage look, star confetti drizzled on the tables, candles and flower centerpieces on each table, and of course, my rendition of 'Starry Night' in cake form.

I used almost every circular tip (1-7) I own for this cake, along with the leaf tips (59 and 60).

The most challenging part of this cake was getting the colors vibrant enough. I went through a lot of food coloring. The trick to not using too much icing is to do all the light colors first and then gradually get darker.

I started with the stars. Then moved to the light blue swirls. Then I just started filling in other places. I made sure to keep a little bit of every color for the final touch of accent colors. The final thing I did was the chocolate tree.

To add the "painting" aspect, I put a picture frame around it. Congrats to the Bride and Groom on their upcoming nuptials and a BIG thank you for letting me be a part of the "Starry Night" Bridal Shower experience.

Put Your Game Face on - Xbox Cake

I love when people say to me, "you can do a/an ______ cake."

I don't know. I've never tried!

When a friend of mine called me up one day and said, "You can make an Xbox cake, right?" i just laughed.

"I don't know, I've never made one before. I've only made the Rock Band Cake," I said.

Her reply, "Oh ok... well, you're gonna make an Xbox cake. No pressure."

Yikes! Where do you even start on something like this when you've never made a REAL 3D cake?
The console.

I just stared at the Xbox for a good 30 mintes to gather my thoughts and ideas. And then I decided to trace the console out. When the cake was cooled, I put the cut out of the Xbox shape on the cake and cut it out. Easy.

Than the controller. Hmm... Not so easy. But I sat there at the tray with the controller in front of me and carved it a little at a time. Here's a tip: I use the food coloring markers to draw it out before I cut.

After everything was cut and wrapped I took the little details and started working on those. I cut out the air vents, the buttons, the side panels, the analogs. All of it.

I used a bit of water and attached all the pieces. Then a little bit of icing for some last details and voila... you have an Xbox cake.

I've seen some pretty awesome Xbox cakes out there, but I'm still VERY proud of mine. My second 3D cake. Second! Imagine that. I think I have a gift for "winging" it.

 

I go hard in the 3D cakes!

Here's my Rock Band tribute cake. It was also made as a send off to a dear friend that was moving away.

What better way to send her off than a night of good old fashioned Rock Band?

So we did what we do best: go totally overboard and theme out our Rock Band party. We sprayed our hair pink, dressed in our Rock and Roll gear, set up the instruments and jammed out all night till our hands hurt and our voices were gone.

 But when it came time for dessert, my friends were in for quite a surprise: My first ever 3D cake.

The cake itself was basic vanilla with butter cream icing. Of course, I used my trusty Wilton cake recipe. The time and effort was all in the decorating.

I did the entire cake in homemade butter cream icing (one that's an absolute secret). I free hand piped the side of the cake that mimics the bars where the notes show up on the screen when you play Rock Band. I made all the instruments and Rock Band logo in fondant icing.

While it might not be the best, the most outrageous or even the most difficult cake, this one will always be my favorite. It was my first time stepping outside of that "safe" cake zone and doing something crazy.

It's also the day I learned I had more patience than I ever thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Wilton's Buttercream Icing

So if I prefer Wilton's cake mix... you can probably guess that I use their icing too.

Well you guessed right!

And here it is...

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

For Medium Consistency

1. In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla.

2. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.

3. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

HINT: For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing

1. Add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency):

1. Omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor.

2. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

Wilton's White Cake Recipe

My favorite White cake recipe has to be from Wilton.

After all, they are the baking genius' of the world. So every time I make cupcakes from the soul I use this recipe... all other times if I'm in a rush I'll use Betty Crocker boxed cake mix, but shhhhh.

So here's a quick look at their recipe should you ever want to try it.

• 6 cups cake flour sifted
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 12 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom of pans and line with waxed paper or parchment paper. (Click here for complete instructions on preparing baking pans.)

2. Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Set aside.

4. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Set aside.

5. With mixer at slow speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk. Beat well after each addition.

6. Beat in vanilla extract. Gently fold egg whites into batter.

7. Pour into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.