Baker's Cakes

Cake Pop Craziness!

2011-09-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last week was all about Cake Pops around here!!! Here's an absolutely scrumptious one year anniversary cake... 'cause sometimes pain old cake just isn't enough:

These Cake Pops are perfectly coordinated with the Baby Shower theme, "She's ready to Pop!"

Apparently, I'm not the only one with Cake Pops on the brain, I just noticed no less than two magazine covers at the grocery store that featured Cake Pops! 'Tis the Cake Pop season, I guess!

Planes, Ships, and Automobiles: or Cakes for Big Boys!

2011-09-05T03:54:00.000-07:00

There has definitely been a theme to last few cakes that I have made: Toys for Big Boys! The thoughtful mothers, wives, and girlfriends of these lucky big boys ordered some very special cakes for their loved ones!

This Airplane Groom's Cake was styled after the old school Fisher Price Airplane and Little People Toys:

The cake was Vanilla Buttermilk with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting between the layers. To continue the recent fondant free trend, it was covered in Vanilla Buttercream. I did use some contrasting fondant for the details. My little people at home (aka kids) were most impressed with the Krispy Kreme mini donut wheels! The bride and groom were sculpted out of sugar paste and fondant:

The Viking Ship Cake was created for a Viking aficionado:

I loved all the little details on the ship and on the little sugar paste viking clothes (and helmet):

The License Plate Cake was created for a Big Boy who collects license plates. His wife knew she wanted to customize it with his initials and a play on the NH state motto: Live Free or Die. I thought that The Old Man in the Mountain license plate image went along perfectly with the theme:

Wedding Cake with Purple Fresh Roses

2011-08-23T06:40:00.001-07:00

Wedding Cake with Purple Fresh Roses, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This was such an elegant wedding cake. In planning, the lovely couple getting married and I went through a couple different ideas, as they used a Mardi Gras theme as a jumping off point for their wedding. They eventually moved away from a literal Mardi Gras theme, but kept lavenders and purples for their wedding colors. Ultimately the bride chose this classic square based cake with two round layers on top with fresh flowers. I think it was simply gorgeous!

Bold Asymmetrical Stripes and Cascading Flowers

2011-08-16T06:44:00.001-07:00

Hot Summer Cake- Flower Detail, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This may be one of my favorite color combinations: hot reds and oranges accented with a bold splash of cool blues. Maybe it just looks like the way summer here in North Carolina feels. This cake kind of evolved as I made it, in fact, I wasn't intending to cover it in fondant! The bottom square was Red Velvet and the top was Carrot Cake, both iced with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

After stacking them I realized I could have some fun with the colors of the flavors graduating asymmetrical fondant stripes from the bottom to the top in red to orange! The cascading cool blue daisies finished off the look of this hot summer cake!

Surfing Baby Shower Cake

2011-08-02T08:50:00.001-07:00

Surfing Themed Baby Shower Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I loved the theme for this cake! My client was hosting a surf themed baby shower by the pool. This cake was part of what I am sure was an amazing dessert table! The cake was a Buttermilk Vanilla Cake filled with Lemon Curd and topped with Lemon Buttercream! The details are vanilla and light chocolate fondant with crushed vanilla wafer sand. So summery! So refreshing!

Kate Spade Handbag Cake

2011-07-25T05:24:00.001-07:00

Kate Spade Handbag Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I adore making handbag cakes! Every so often an order comes in that I just can't wait to get to work on, and this Kate Spade New York Gold Coast Elizabeth inspired cake was one that I had to stop myself from working on too early (the whole fresh factor, you know)!

Ironically, I am not much of a handbag person myself, although I found a bag that I love here on a serious markdown and I hope it lasts forever! But the purpose of this post isn't to discuss my style short-comings!!!

This cake is Buttermilk Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and rolled fondant. The customer requested a purple cake (but the bag in real life comes in black and white).

Monogram Wedding Cake

2011-07-05T05:31:00.001-07:00

Monogram Wedding Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It seems like I have been making more and more cakes without fondant recently, this past weekend was no exception. This elegant monogram wedding cake was served at a sweet intimate wedding in Durham this weekend. The wedding cake was Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting with bands of off white rolled fondant.

This fun children's birthday cake was also served at the reception. The cake was Buttermilk Vanilla Confetti with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. The R2D2 and C3PO characters are sculpted out of sugar paste:

High School Graduation Cake Craziness!

2011-06-15T05:28:00.001-07:00

Last week was High School Graduation Week and Baker's Cakes was busy in the kitchen creating cakes celebrating several college bound Grads! This cake was for a Grad heading to Appalachian State in gorgeous Boone North Carolina:

Tennessee:

Georgia:

Cake Pop Cupcake!

2011-06-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, here it is! The last installment of this year's PTA Cupcakes! It was just a matter of time before these two treats ended up together! I'm not even sure why it took me so long to think of it! The chocolatey cakey truffley goodness of half a Cake Pop Bite on a Buttermilk Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting! Gilding the lily? I think not! Gluttonous? Maybe!

Recent Cupcakes!

2011-05-20T11:39:00.001-07:00

Mini Cupcakes!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Last week was a particularly popular week for cupcakes! These mini cupcakes were created for a graduation party. I love the two toned rosette buttercream design! (Photo courtesy of The Catering Company, Chapel Hill, NC).

The Kitty Cupcakes were the perfect treat for a sweet 6 year old birthday girl who had a kitten themed birthday party! I borrowed the design from the famous "Hello Cupcake" book, but used Strawberry Buttercream to match the pink theme of the party!

Acoustic Guitar Cake

2011-05-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

Acoustic Guitar Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was created for the 21st birthday of a serious guitar playing music lover! In order to maximize cake I honed in on the beautiful design on the Gibson Hummingbird Guitar. The cake itself was Baker's Cake Signature Chocolate with Double Chocolate Butterceeam Frosting and marshmallow filling with crushed graham crackers! Yes, it was a S'mores Cake!!! It was covered in both vanilla and chocolate rolled fondant to capture the look of the acoustic guitar.

Strawberry Shortcake Cake!

2011-05-10T10:38:00.001-07:00

Strawberry Shortcake Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It's strawberry season in North Carolina and this was the perfect cake to celebrate the season last week. The Birthday Girl was having her party at a strawberry patch and requested a Strawberry Shortcake character cake made out of Strawberry Cake and Fresh Strawberry Buttercream! I love the updated Strawberry Shortcake character, and I just had to include Strawberry's cat, Custard! The rows of strawberry plants are growing out of Chocolate Buttercream and crushed chocolate cookie "dirt." I created the plants out of Vanilla Buttercream and Fondant flowers and strawberries. As Strawberry would say, "Something berry special is happening in the berry patch!"

Mountain Sunset Cake

2011-04-25T13:53:00.001-07:00

Mountain Sunset Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was a surprise for my client's wife. He asked if I could create a custom birthday cake from her tattoo, a setting/rising sun behind two mountains. A cake based on a tattoo? Why, yes. That is right up my alley! He emailed me some reference material, but I really wanted to see an image of the tattoo. After I finally convinced him to send me a picture, we nailed down the design.

I began fondly calling this the Bob Ross Cake! When my clients wife finally saw the cake she was thrilled! She said when she saw it she wondered if the Ace of Cakes had made her cake? They also reported that it was the best cake they had ever had. I think that hearing that makes me the most happy! It's so nice to hear that not only is the artistry of the cake appreciated, but it tastes awesome too!

Coin Collector Birthday Cake!

2011-04-21T06:35:00.001-07:00

Coin Collector Birthday Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The world of custom cakes shows us that there is more to a birthday party than Spiderman or Princesses for kids these days! This cakes was based off of a 1955 Double Die Penny! Apparently collector coins are displayed on a white card and that's exactly how this 8 year old birthday boy wanted his cake to look!

Adorable Pale Yellow and White Wedding Cake

2011-04-18T07:23:00.001-07:00

Adorable Pale Yellow and White Wedding Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This wedding cake was such a pleasure to create from start to finish. The bride and groom were so sweet to work with from our first meeting and cake tasting. They came to the tasting with a very fun request, "Could I make their cake with 'Funfetti' Cake?" I loved the idea from the start! How much fun would it be to have a classic elegant cake on their cake table and then cut into it and serve a moist cake flecked with confetti sprinkles?!?!! And thus I whipped up the Butermilk Vanilla Confetti Cake! Which has since become one of my regular cake flavors! The couple also opted to go with buttercream frosting and I love how the bride said it, "It looks more like real cake!" Totally! It's so easy to get caught up in trends and a certain "look." Simply said, sometimes cake should just look (and taste) like cake! While flipping through pictures the bride spotted the graphic flowers that she ultimately chose for the cake. They turned out to be perfect for this simply adorable sweet cake!

Baby Shower Barbecue Cupcakes!

2011-04-14T06:29:00.001-07:00

Baby Shower Barbeque Cupcakes!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These cupcakes were so fun to create! They were ordered for a Baby Shower disguised as a barbeque! The party was a surprise for the expecting couple! I wanted to use the little bears with bows for the baby shower party of the theme and then made coordinating hot dogs and hamburgers (or veggie dogs and veggie burgers if you prefer). I loved the red and white picnic table cloth inspired cupcakes wrappers and tied that back into the bows and barbeque condiments!

Virgin of Guadalupe Cake

2011-04-12T05:27:00.001-07:00

Virgin of Guadalupe Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

In February I donated a gift certificate for a cake to a fundraiser at my son's school. The gift certificate was placed in a raffle, which meant that anyone young or old had the chance to win a cake! Often cake gift certificates are put into silent auctions where only the highest bidder wins.

In March a teacher at the school emailed me to tell me that one of her students won the cake. He knew exactly what he wanted: chocolate cake with vanilla frosting with the Virgin of Guadalupe! His teacher was so sweet, she wondered if he didn't want a soccer cake or a Spiderman cake, but no, he was sure, he wanted "La Virgen."

I loved the idea! It turned out this cake was the perfect opportunity to blend several different artistic techniques. I used some relief sculpture to create the figure and roses and some painting behind her and on her dress, robe, and face. I think the tattoo style "Happy Birthday" banner added the final element of cool to the cake!

40th Birthday Golf Cake!

2011-04-04T13:29:00.001-07:00

40th Birthday Golf Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This Chocolate Cake with Peanutbutter Frosting was created for a golf lover's 40th birthday! It is a celebration of golf and frosting! Because we went with the peanut butter frosting I needed to cover the entire cake in green vanilla rolled fondant and then add Vanilla Buttercream for the "rough" grass! The sand trap was crushed vanilla wafer cookies and peanut butter frosting! My husband jokingly refered to this as a "Chia Cake," he's so witty!

Quilt Cake!

2011-03-29T13:50:00.001-07:00

Quilt Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This Quilt Cake was such a pleasure to create. My client contacted me and requested a cake for his mother-in-laws 70th birthday. (How Sweet!) He wanted to incorporate her Irish heritage, love of quilting, and grandchildren's names. We went with a color scheme with green tones for the Irish flair. I used stencils to crate the designs on the alternating squares, as well as an array of spring colors. I love how the "stitching" turned out on the edged of each square, as well as using that effect for the grandchildren's names around the sides of the quilt/cake.

Hummingbird Cupcakes!

2011-03-29T13:24:00.001-07:00

Hummingbird Cupcakes!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Here is the April PTA Cupcake! It is a Hummingbird Cupcake which is a banana, apple, pineapple spiced cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting! And because it is Spring and there are gorgeous flowering trees here in the South, the Hummingbird Cupcakes are adorned with blooms and tiny birds!

6" Pint of Guinness Cake!

2011-03-10T05:42:00.001-08:00

6" Pint of Guinness Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It's a little early for St. Patrick's Day, but many would argue that any time is a good time for a pint of Guinness! This was a Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting, covered in rolled Chocolate Fondant! Yum!!! Shortly after the customer picked up the cake she texted me this fabulous cake narrative:

The Presentation:

The Slice:

The Swig:

The Demise:

And that is why I love doing this and have the BEST customers EVER!!!

Weekend Cake Roundup!

2011-03-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

I don't usually do a cake roundup, but this past weekend was so busy that I am still recovering! Saturday I delivered this lovely Damask Cake to The Carolina Inn on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Here is the cake in the gorgeous venue of the Old Well Room:

Later on Saturday I delivered 11 dozen cupcakes to a pre-game bash at the UNC Business School. I was honored to have my cupcakes at a big party before the UNC/Duke game. Thankfully, Carolina won!!!

Spring Flower Cupcakes

2011-03-03T05:24:00.001-08:00

Spring Flower Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Here in the Upper South, Spring is definitely beginning to show it's most welcomed face! Just in the past few days trees have begun to flower and I'm certain I saw some daffodils blooming while I was shuttling kids from one place to another. The March PTA Cupcake is a celebration of spring! Three different fondant flowers on Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting to honor the arrival of Spring!

Favorite Things 2nd Birthday Cake!

2011-03-01T05:55:00.001-08:00

Favorite Things 2nd Birthday Cake- Lambie Detail, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This was just the cutest cake to make! Last year I made a Pookie Cake for an adorable little one year old! This year she is two and has even more stuffed animal lovies! The cake design is based on her birthday invitation and I customized it with her favorite bedtime friends!

The cake was Baker's Cakes new best seller "Buttermilk Vanilla Confetti" with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting topped with Vanilla and Chocolate Rolled Fondant! Apparently, Fondant Cake Lambie looked so much like the real thing there was a bit of confusion at the party!

Dog Cake!

2011-02-15T07:48:00.001-08:00

Dog Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was ordered by one of my best clients! And I love this, the design and flavor was totally up to me!!! While this is the most amazing opportunity as an artist, it's also kind of like trying to find your way driving to somewhere that you've never been, and have all you passengers in the car ecstatic when you get there! Luckily, my client gave me her husband's number to contact to arrange the pick up of the cake! I decided to call and get the inside scoop on her likes and interests! After fumbling through introducing myself to him and explaining what info I was looking for, he agreed to email me some tips. I felt like I was putting him on a game show, "How well do you know your wife?" Or something equally embarrassing!

At any rate he emailed me back an amazing list to work with and I focused in on her love of German Short Haired Pointers and daily Starbucks obsession! I went with strawberry cake and strawberry buttercream under a light chocolate Fondant. (Not red velvet, that would be gross to cut into your dog and find that!) I sculpted the portrait based on her own dog and embellished the collar with a UNC logo and Starbucks charm instead of a dog tag!

PTA Valentine Cupcakes!

2011-02-10T06:29:00.001-08:00

PTA Valentine Cupcakes!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Here's the February installment of the PTA Cupcake! You, dear reader, might remember my quest to create a different special cupcake each month for a local PTA to give to teachers in the month of their birthdays. For the most part I have tried to stay with the "birthday" theme, but in December I went with the seasonal poinsettia, these heart cupcakes kind of stay with the seasonal idea! Nothing says platonic fondness for your teacher like Red Velvet Cupcakes with Fondant heart toppers in the school colors!

Bowling Cake II

2011-02-08T05:20:00.001-08:00

Bowling Cake II, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A while back I created this Bowling Cake. For last week's cake, I kept the bowling lane idea and sugar paste sculpture. I love his little bowling shirt, shoes, and shaggy hair! As well as how the stripes on the pins are mimicked by the stripes around the cake (which just goes to show how far I have descended into dork-hood)!

R2D2 Cake!

2011-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

R2D2 is such an iconic character! This cake and cupcakes were truly a blast to make! I knew it would be a hit with the five year old birthday boy when it got my eight year old son's nod of approval!

One of the R2D2 Cupcakes:

Football, Basketball, and Baseball Cake!

2011-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

This first birthday cake was created for a little boy who is clearly a sports fanatic (and his mom and dad too)! It was so much fun to work with the client to design the perfect cake for her son's first birthday! I also made him a smash cake:

And Football and Basketball Cake Pops:

Cleveland Browns Drum Set Cake!

2011-01-25T07:59:00.001-08:00

Cleveland Browns Drum Set Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I created this birthday cake for a drummer who hails from Cleveland! As everyone knows, Cleveland Rocks!

The bass drum and the smaller drums are Baker's Cakes Chocolate Cake with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting and are covered with rolled chocolate fontant on the sides and vanilla rolled fondant on the drumming surface. I dusted the chocolate Fondant with edible gold dust to create that sparkly shimmer that drums have! I also used edible silver dust to create a chrome effect on the drums. The cymbals were made with sugar paste and the drum sticks were made with fondant!

Gift Cupcake!

2011-01-19T10:34:00.001-08:00

Gift Cupcake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The January PTA Cupcake is here! It is a Vanilla Cupcake with Orange Creamsicle Buttercream Frosting! And it is topped with a fondant "gift" topped with a fondant bow!

American Girl Doll Jewelry Cake!

2011-01-12T08:15:00.001-08:00

American Girl Doll Jewelry Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was created for a birthday party that combined the birthday girl's love of American Girl Dolls and a great party activity of jewelry making! The figures were inspired by the birthday girl's American Girl Doll look-a-like and the other figure was styled after the newest doll Kanani. I worked really had to add as much detail in the faces to make them as realistic as possible, including eye lids on the blonde doll, eye lashes on both dolls and carefully shaped teeny tiny eyes, noses, and mouths. The elegant "pearl" necklaces were also a big hit with the girls at the party!

Piano, Books, and Christmas Ornament Cake!

2010-12-30T08:13:00.001-08:00

Piano, Books, and Christmas Ornament Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

When I got the order for this cake I was very excited, the concept was so original and personalized. Cakes that can only ever made for one person in the whole world are the ones that I enjoy making the most. For this cake, a husband ordered it for his wife who was graduating from grad school and had written her thesis on Flannery O'Connor. She is also and avid piano player and they were celebrating by throwing a holiday/graduation party, hence the fancy chrstmas ornaments.

This cake was Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Butterecream Frosting and it was topped with Homemade Chocolate Marshmallow Rolled Fondant!

Disco Ball Cake!

2010-12-21T06:20:00.001-08:00

Disco Ball Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I loved this cake! However, this cake is a little engineering lesson to me all wrapped up in fondant! I baked a ball cake and covered it in hundreds of fondant squares that I individually painted. I made the disco ball stand out of crispy rice cereal treats and covered that in fondant. I baked the Saturday Night Fever-esque dance floor base and covered it in fondant squares.

And here is where things began to go dramatically wrong. I placed the disco ball on the rice cereal base assuming the squashed together crispy treats would be a nice strong base for the ball. The base was on cardboard and there were dowels in the dance floor, but not in the disco ball base. Off went my groovy disco ball cake. I later received a text that the disco ball base was smooshing! Boo. (The cake was salvaged at the party by popping it into the fridge and propping up the ball.) One cardboard under the ball and one dowel through the crispy treats could have prevented that! The lesson here is that crispy rice cereal is not as structurally sound as I thought! Lesson learned! Sometimes I just need to run my artistic vision by a structural engineer!

Flowers and Bugs Cake

2010-12-16T10:09:00.001-08:00

Pink Flowers and Bugs Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This sweet cake was for an equally sweet four year old birthday girl. She dreamed of a pink cake with bees, ladybugs, and butterflies! I added a few flowers and leaves and voila, an adorable birthday cake!

'Tis the Season...

2010-12-14T11:49:00.001-08:00

...for giving! And here are two cakes that Baker's Cakes recently donated to a couple of our favorite charities! A cake for an Orange County Rape Crisis Center fundraiser and cake auction:

And a cake for the Girls on the Run of the Triangle 10th Birthday Party:

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Harley Davidson Cake

2010-12-09T05:30:00.001-08:00

Harley Davidson Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It's been a long time since I made a Motorcycle Cake. This cake was to celebrate a 50th birthday. The recipient really wanted this bike, but his wife threw him an awesome biker party and got him this cake instead!

The trickiest part about creating a cake for a large group of people to eat is that a motorcycle is basically about an economy of parts, two wheels, not four, no roof, etc. So how do you make a cake that has enough substance to meet serving requirement? I expanded the engine a bit and filled all the spaces between bike bits with cake. Here is an older Motorcycle Cake that I made a few years ago:

Poinsettia Cupcakes

2010-12-07T05:23:00.001-08:00

Poinsettia Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The Poinsettia Cupcake is the December installment of the PTA Appreciation Cupcake! There are many more cakes coming soon, check back Thursday!

Pearl Handbag Cake

2010-12-02T05:06:00.001-08:00

Pearl Handbag Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Earlier this year I made this Louis Vuitton Handbag Cake. Shortly after, the recipient of that cake contacted me to make a Pearl Handbag Cake for her aunt's birthday. We searched the internet for pearl handbag's to use as inspiration and decided on this abstract swirl patterned clutch.

I really do enjoy making these handbag cakes! Although, at times, I felt like my fingers were just too big and clumsy as I individually placed each tiny bead! Frequently they would fly out from between my fingers, resulting in the floor looking like this:

Dora Fairy Princess Castle Cake!

2010-11-30T06:13:00.001-08:00

Princess Castle Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

As most of you know, my daughter Ava spends a lot of time with me in the kitchen while I work! This gives her a unique opportunity to take part in a small part of many many celebrations! It also gives her lots and lots of time to think about her own birthday cake! Almost immediately after last year's Hello Kitty Cake she decided she wanted a princess castle cake. We compromised with this two tiered pink cake.

At the 11th hour she decided it must have Dora on top of the cake, wearing a pink dress, and with a pink bow in her hair! Oh, and with fish in the water around the castle. Again, she is nothing if not specific and attentive to detail! Two fantastic qualities in a cake decorator, more difficult in a four year old personality! She was however, very pleased with her cake, until she was flipping through a Cinderella book and she saw the picture of Cinderella's party dress, before the step sisters tore it apart, and informed me that that was how Dora's dress was supposed to look! Maybe I'll get it right next year!

I also made iced sugar cookies to give as party favors:

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

2010-11-23T17:17:00.001-08:00

Cookie Monster Cupcake Detail, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I thought that the Elegant Baby Shower Cupcakes that I made recently, were among my most favorite cupcakes, but then I made these adorable Cookie Monster Cupcakes! Who can resist that fuzzy blue fur? Those slightly askew eyes? Apparently Cookie Monster is launching a campaign to host Saturday Night Live too!

With these chocolate chip cookie topped cupcakes with excessive amounts of blue buttercream and a potential gig on SNL, he's definitely got it going on!

Turtle Cake

2010-11-23T04:19:00.001-08:00

Turtle Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This Turtle Cake was for a Preschool Class Birthday Party! I modeled the cake after the class icon. I especially like his little black shoes and facial expressions! His head and shoes are made of crispy rice cereal covered in fondant. I raised the turtle shell off the ground by making the legs out of cake columns and covering them in fondant.

Girl's Nightgown Birthday Cake

2010-11-17T17:12:00.001-08:00

Nightgown Cake Detail, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was kind of an unusual request! The Birthday Girl was having a sleep-over birthday party and requested a girl's white nightgown with pink flowers on it for her cake! This was the perfect opportunity to test out a technique that seems to be getting very popular. Frosting is piped onto the fondant and brushed inward to create an embroidered look and texture. My client was thrilled with the result and was so pleased that the gown almost looked like a little girl was wearing it! Cake makes everyone happy and that's why I love it!!!

Bob the Builder Cupcakes

2010-11-17T04:42:00.001-08:00

Bob the Builder Cupcakes II, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Having had a three year old go through a very solid Bob The Builder phase these cupcakes were a fun walk down memory lane! I created the Birthday Boy's favorite characters out of fondant:

My favorites toppers were Bob, Wendy, Lofty (he has such a great expression), Dizzy, and Bird!

I also made iced sugar cookies to go with the cupcakes!

Elegant Baby Shower Cupcakes

2010-11-08T08:30:00.001-08:00

Elegant Baby Shower Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These may be my favorite cupcakes to date! From the blue with white polka dotted wrappers to the hand sculpted sugar paste pacifiers, bottles, and light chocolate fondant bows they are just adorable!

Lego Cupcakes II

2010-11-04T06:42:00.001-07:00

Lego Cupcakes II, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These are some recent Lego Cupcakes! Here are some that I made two years ago too!

Chameleon Cupcake Toppers!

2010-11-01T06:46:00.001-07:00

Chameleon Cupcake Toppers!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These adorable little chameleons topped the cupcakes for the November PTA Birthday Cupcakes!!!

Walking into Spider Webs

2010-10-29T05:23:00.001-07:00

Ghosts and Goblins!

Jack-o-lanterns!

Happy Halloween!

Belle Cake

2010-10-18T07:47:00.001-07:00

Belle Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The re-release of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" inspired this little girl's Belle themed Princess Cake! The two tiers of Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting are trimmed with fondant in the style of Belle's dress. And of course, Belle is surrounded by her friends Mrs. Potts and Chip, the clock, and candlestick!

To create Belle's friends I drew and hand colored fondant with edible marker.

Finally, the birthday girl is sculpted out of sugar paste.

Cupcake Topper!

2010-10-14T06:52:00.001-07:00

Cupcake Topper!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I just love this little pink cupcake topper!

Cupcake on a Cupcake!

2010-10-04T07:40:00.001-07:00

Cupcake on a Cupcake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

October's PTA teacher appreciation cupcake!

Chinese Fan Cake

2010-09-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Chinese Fan Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This was such a unique order! The request was for a Chinese Lady's Fan with cranes. I hand painted an abstract interpretation of a Chinese landscape with flying cranes. I believe that the character, again stylized, is for good luck!

Pink Ribbons Topsy Turvy Cake

2010-09-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

Pink Ribbons Topsy Turvy Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Sometimes it can be quite a trick to make a cake that highlights one individual's diverse and sometimes completely opposite interests. This cake is a case in point! The recipient of this cake is as passionate about the Red Sox as she is about breast cancer awareness! The topsy turvy cake just lends itself to bringing all these interests together.

Piece of Cake Cupcakes!

2010-09-07T05:54:00.001-07:00

Piece of Cake Cupcakes!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These adorable cupcakes are inspired by Sweet Things Toronto and are my latest creation for some lucky teachers! They are Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. The tiny slices of cake are made out of fondant and the candles are one single sprinkle!

Ladybug Cake!

2010-08-31T09:18:00.001-07:00

Ladybug Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I'm just tickled pink by this adorable Ladybug Cake! With this awesome inspiration from Pink Cake Box, I was ready to make this sweet pink ladybug for an even sweeter little girl!

Cake Pops!

2010-08-27T09:53:00.001-07:00

Cake Pops!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This week's Cake Pops! Chocolate and Red Velvet!

Betty Boop and Graduation Cupcakes

2010-08-24T05:42:00.001-07:00

Betty Boop and Graduation Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These Betty Boop and Graduation themed cupcakes were just too fun to make! The graduate is a huge fan of Betty Boop! The cupcakes were Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate topped with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream!

White Ruffle Cake

2010-08-17T09:45:00.001-07:00

White Ruffle Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Last week was our 10 year wedding anniversary! And for a cake maker that means only one thing: time to experiment with cake flavors and design! Our original wedding cake was a spice cake (I did not make our cake, I hadn't discovered my cake calling then! And I only became a "Baker" that day!!!) I try to make a spice cake every year on our anniversary. This year I made a very moist and flavorful Banana Spice Cake. I have been thinking about creating a ruffled cake for some time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to test it out! I hope to make another one soon to keep working out this design, I'd like to make the next one even more ruffled!

Corporate Logo Cookies

2010-08-12T08:57:00.001-07:00

The pressure was seriously on when I got an order to put a corporate logo onto cookies for a company that makes products with company logos on stuff!!!

The tricky part was figuring out how to get all the text onto a 4" x 2" cookie! I hand painted all of the smaller text and piped the bold part of the logo with royal icing.

Retirement Cake!

2010-08-05T06:51:00.001-07:00

Retirement Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was a blast to make! The client provided me with a few pictures to work from:

I just love making cakes that show folks in their workplace or doing things they like to do! People love seeing themselves as cake! What a fantastic way to celebrate a valued team member!

Chameleon Cupcake

2010-08-03T10:28:00.001-07:00

Chameleon Cupcake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A very thoughtful PTA has arranged to give Baker's Cakes Cupcakes to the teachers at their school in the month of the teacher's birthdays! Last month I made these cupcakes:

As a personal challenge, I decided to make a different cupcake each month! This month I made these chameleon cupcakes with the school mascot on it! Happy August Birthdays to the teachers at Carpenter Elementary School! Check back in September for next month's PTA Cupcake!

50th Wedding Anniversary Cake

2010-08-02T09:26:00.001-07:00

To say that making this cake was a challenge, would be an understatement! My clients gave me this adorable picture of their parents and their wedding cake to work from:

As much as I examined and scrutinized the picture, I couldn't see exactly how the cake was decorated! Luckily, my clients were open to a somewhat modern interpretation of the cake! I could kind of discern some leaves, flowers, and scalloping, so I went with those!

My clients were thrilled with the cake! We should all be so lucky to make it to our 50th Anniversary! What an achievement!

Old School TV!

2010-07-15T13:34:00.001-07:00

Old School TV!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I totally remember having an old school black and white television like this! Ours had black plastic trim, though! Then we had the one that had the dials and the buttons. (I could have sworn ours had dials too- and it was much smaller!)

The recipient of this cake used to own an electronics and television store! It is made out of his favorite coconut cake and vanilla buttercream, and covered with rolled fondant. I marbled chocolate and vanilla fondant to create the wood grain on the trim. What a fun way to celebrate an 80th birthday!

Swim Team Cake '10

2010-07-14T04:43:00.001-07:00

Swim Team Cake '10, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Last year I made this cake for the Swim Team! This year they wanted an even bigger cake! One that would serve 200!!! I represented each coach swimming the stroke they normally did in the coaches relay and included one or two personal details on the cake for each coach!

Coach Candance swimming the backstroke, sporting her UNC team suit, and a UNC towel is behind her:

Coach Becky swimming the fly, wearing a UNC swim cap, and a birthday cake (her birthday was two days before):

Coach Brit diving in to the pool, his lifeguard whistle and sunglasses are on the edge of the pool:

Coach Augustina swimming the breast stroke, with a personalized swim cap behind her:

The kids lined up for cake! I love this one:

Simple, Bold, and Elegant Wedding Cake

2010-07-10T06:25:00.001-07:00

I knew from the minute that I saw the inspiration (the bride brought a picture to our tasting from the bridalguide.com sept/oct 2009 issue) for this cake, it was the perfect cake for me to make! The design is bold and elegant. As I piped on the royal icing I realized that it was the painterly aspect of the flowers that I connected with. The bold purple flowers are almost in an impasto style, a painting technique in which very thick paint is applied to the canvas with a palette knife.

Lingerie Cake II

2010-07-09T05:28:00.001-07:00

Lingerie Cake II, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A while back I made this Lingerie Cake. When I got the order for that cake I was hesitant to make the cliche smutty underwear cake. Well, this time I decided to tackle the bull by the horns, or in this case, the thong. The client requested lingerie in the bride-to-be's favorite color: purple, with yellow as an accent color. The result is a sweet elegant cake to enjoy while celebrating with dear friends!

The box/bow detail:

Top detail:

Camo Birthday Cake!

2010-07-06T09:36:00.001-07:00

Camo Birthday Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It's not pretty in the traditional sense, but this Camo Cake is very sweet! The dog tags and chain are created out of sugar paste, fondant, and silver dragees!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-02T07:15:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Cake Pops!

2010-06-25T08:30:00.001-07:00

Cake Pops!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Cake Pops are completely customizable! I'm not sure what the invites looked like for this party, but these would be a perfect match!

A Nice Day for a White Wedding (Cake)!

2010-06-21T04:31:00.001-07:00

A Nice Day for a White Wedding (Cake)!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This wedding was held in the Pop Box in Kenan Stadium (The Football Stadium at the The University of North Carolina)! What a fantastic venue! I love how the Carolina Blue carried through everything, even down to the flowers! The stadium backdrop behind the cake:

The top and bottom layers of the cake were Italian Cream Cake filled with Champagne Strawberry Preserves and Fresh Strawberries. The middle layer was Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake filled with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting and the entire cake was covered with Vanilla Buttercream!

Under the Sea Birthday Cake!

2010-06-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

This little boy loves all things fish! At the tender of age of three he already has his favorites! Sharks (of course), stingrays, jellyfish, and more! It is fortuitous and fantastic for his cake design that he also loves bubbles!

The sugar sculpture of the birthday boy in is birthday dory is the perfect topper for this cake! He can peer over the edge and observe the creatures beneath!

I threw scale overboard and included a whale shark! They are underwater giants! A clown fish would be a speck next to a whale shark in real life, yet they can happily coexist in fondant on this cake!

Joe Paterno Cake!

2010-06-01T04:00:00.001-07:00

Joe Paterno Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A while back I received an order for a Groom's Cake from a very thoughtful bride-to-be. Her fiance (now husband) is a Penn State fanatic and loves Joe Paterno (JoePa), the longtime and beloved coach of the Penn State football team. Here is my favorite part of the email she sent me:

...just want to make sure that you do put glasses on him...apparently he recently had cataract surgery and doesn't need his glasses anymore, but they are his trademark!

While his glasses may be his trademark, I was sure to accentuate his nose and wrinkles, two features that certainly add to his JoePa-ness!

I created the pattern on the tie using edible markers.

I sculpted the cake as well as modeled the fondant to create the facial features. I also went back into some of the lines and wrinkled with a food color wash to emphasize the shadows and highlights.

A Fantastic Wedding Cake Tasting!

2010-05-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

I recently had a fantastic wedding cake tasting! The bride brought a picture of a cake that she loved. She and I looked at it and thought the exact same thing: simple and elegant yet bold and graphic at the same time! This style of cake is a a perfect match with my background in drawing and painting and I can't wait to get started on it! But, I'll have to wait until July!!!

Here is the cake selection that the bride and groom tasted: Buttermilk Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Buttercream Frosting topped with Vanilla Rolled Fondant:

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (and some of the lemon cake with lemon buttercream without the lemon curd):

Mermaid Cake II

2010-05-25T10:37:00.001-07:00

Mermaid Cake II, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I posted any cakes. No, I'm not just recycling the Mermaid Cake of a couple of weeks ago! Sometimes this is just the way orders play out! So, I took the opportunity to work out some of the kinks that came up in the last mermaid cake.

While I liked the painterly quality of the rocks that the last mermaid sat on, I really wanted a cleaner crisp look on this cake, so I went with a overall purple layer of fondant on the cake. I also softened the waves in shape and color by going with a blue that was tonally very similar to the purple. The clients provided me with the Ariel Doll and a dolphin, so I created a sugar paste dolphin to accompany Ariel on the cake.

This cake was a delicious combination of Buttermilk Vanilla Cake and Fresh Strawberry Buttercream, topped with vanilla rolled fondant!

Mermaid Cake

2010-05-10T05:34:00.001-07:00

Mermaid Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake is based on the Barbie Doll Cake design. However, given that Ariel has a tail, the doll's legs are inside the cake and the tail is designed into the cake. It was so much fun to create her scaly shiny mermaid tail. I drew each scale with an exacto knife and then painted them with luster dust! While she is sitting on rocks, I didn't want the majority of the cake to be grey and brown, so I painted swirls of blue, green, and turquoise for the rocks to keep with the colors my client requested. The water swirl details add a whimsical touch to this sweet cake for a sweet five year old girl!

ECU Topsy Turvy Graduation Cake!

2010-05-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

It's a crazy week for Bakers everywhere! This weekend marks the beginning of college graduation season, Mother's Day on Sunday, birthdays, you name- it's happening this weekend (throw in a couple legs of a Half Iron Man and I might lose it entirely)!

ECU Topsy Turvy Graduation Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

At any rate, this cake proves that Mothers are the best! A mother ordered it for her daughter's graduation from East Carolina University! It is a Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, topped with rolled fondant. The pirate is the recognizable ECU mascot and of course, the purple and black school colors. I admit I am now addicted to my gerbera daisy cutters, but they added a sweet feminine touch to this cake!

Karate Birthday Cake!

2010-05-03T05:17:00.001-07:00

Karate Birthday Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Last month I made this cool Tae Kwon Do Cake and more recently I created this Karate Cake! Based on that, I'm assuming that martial arts birthday parties are popular with the seven year old boy crowd! I guess we know who is going to be heading to see the remake of The Karate Kid when it comes out this summer!

This cake is Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting, it is covered in rolled fondant, and the figure is hand sculpted out of sugar paste. This is the first time that I used a full wire armature inside the figure and that made it possible to really capture the movement in the pose!

Elvis Cake

2010-04-30T06:25:00.001-07:00

Elvis Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Those eyes! Those lips! That hair! I love this man, ahem, I mean, cake! Inspired by the young, not old and fat, Elvis, this cake is Sour Cream Almond with Almond Buttercream Frosting.

I am currently trying to decide how to work this poster into my kitchen decor!

I'm all shook up!

Purple, Dots, Stripes, and Fresh Flowers

2010-04-26T18:19:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I get an email that looks like this:

And my job is to figure out how the heck I am supposed to make a cake out of it!?! Last week I got lucky and ended up with this:

Purple, Dots, and Stripes with Fresh Flowers, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Cars Cake

2010-04-23T14:13:00.001-07:00

Cars Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

When I got the order for this cake, I knew it was right up my alley! My client looked to the Pookie Cake as a design reference, but her son loves all things Disney Cars. I can relate! When my son Jay was three years old (and four) he was obsessed with the movie Cars. He slept on Cars sheets in his Cars pajamas, next to his Cars alarm clock, under his Cars blanket, after he brushed his teeth with his Cars toothbrush and tooth paste, after eating dinner on his Cars dishes. I could go on and on. Needless to say, we have seen the movie countless times, listened to the book on cd and movie soundtrack more times than I care to admit. I am more than just familiar with the characters from Cars!

The fascinating thing about the Disney Cars characters is that they are more than just talking vehicles. Each character has it's own distinct personality. For me they transcend their car-ness and become like people to whom kids and adults can relate. This cake incorporates some of my client's son's favorite characters:

Sally, the town lawyer who traded in life in the fast lane for the small town of Radiator Springs.

Chick Hicks longs to win the Piston Cup and get the sponsorship of Dinoco at any cost.

Lightening McQueen the hot rod rookie race car.

Sheriff, the town's grumpy police car.

Mater the fun loving tow truck.

Luigi the Fiat is the owner of the town tire store and a Formula One race fan, he loves Ferraris.

Happy Birthday Topher!

Fire Truck Cake

2010-04-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

It is so awesome to be able to watch children grow up and have the privilege to make their birthday cakes each year. Last year I made this cake for a client's son's 1st birthday. This year, he is no longer a baby and clearly has his own sense of style and preferences! I went with a bold graphic representation of a fire truck inspired by these adorable invitations. I love the simple collage-like style.

My client ordered this Fire Truck Birthday Cake to accompany a very special visit to the party! The awesome City of Durham Fire Fighters brought a truck to the party!!!

They let the kids get in the truck and check it out!

They gave the Dads at the party a guided tour of the truck!

And the Birthday Boy got to enjoy his Fire Truck Cake!

Statistic Birthday Cupcakes

2010-04-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

Statistic Birthday Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I created these delectable Birthday Cupcakes in Carolina Blue for a 40th Birthday celebration. The recipient of these cupcakes is a math whiz and the proud new owner of a custom bicycle in Carolina blue, his amazing wife ordered these to match! These Signature Baker's Cakes Chocolate Cupcakes with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting and Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream were accompanied by additional Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate cream Cheese Frosting (not pictured). In summation, the equations were all greek to me!

Teal, Dots, and Stripes

2010-04-15T15:42:00.001-07:00

Teal, Dots, and Stripes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This adorable cake was originally inspired by the Black and White Cake. For her daughter's "Sweet 16" the customer asked for a teal background with pink and bright green accent colors. The bottom layer is four 8" layers of Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and the top layer is three 6" layers of the same cake and frosting. The entire cake is covered with rolled fondant. A perfectly adorable "Sweet 16" Cake!

Red Velvet Cake Tasting

2010-04-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

This morning I whipped up this Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for a wedding cake tasting.

I also just happened to see this great link on Cupcake Takes the Cake, that ponders the question, why is Red Velvet such a popular flavor? I think that the quote from the little boy at Golden Belt last month says it pretty well, "The red stuff tastes just like cake but the white stuff on top [White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting] is awesome!"

Lego Batman

2010-04-12T04:18:00.001-07:00

Lego Batman , originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

Last year this customer requested a Lego Indiana Jones Cake and I made this cake. This year they ordered Lego Batman and I wanted to try something different. I looked to Lego Batman wii for some inspiration. I love the comic book-like nature of the image that becomes almost like an illustration!

Sports Themed Cake Pops!

2010-04-08T12:11:00.001-07:00

It's funny the way things work, for some reason I've got a lot of Cake Pop orders this week! These Sports Themed Cake Pops are the perfect accompaniment to a Sports Themed Birthday Party!

Bunny Cupcakes

2010-03-31T10:02:00.001-07:00

Bunny Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

These adorable little fondant bunnies are all ready for Easter! These cupcakes were the perfect use for this edible grass candy:

Tae Kwon Do Cake

2010-03-30T06:21:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of making this cake for a Tae Kwon Do Birthday Party! The birthday boy was transformed into a cartoon for the cake! The highlight of the party (after the Tae Kwon Do class, of course) was the cutting of the cake... with a giant sword!!!

Black and White Cake

2010-03-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

I got an email from a customer last week and I knew that I had to fit this cake into my schedule!

She explained that her sister had been planning on getting married this summer, but that her fiance is in the military. He is going on 72 hours notice this week and they wanted to have a small wedding before he leaves. Her wedding colors are white and black, so for this cake we went with a bold black background and bold contrasting flowers and dots. The cake itself is Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Buttercream Frosting topped with rolled fondant! Best wishes to the bride and groom and a sincere thanks to all those in the military who serve our country!

Dinosaur Birthday Cake

2010-03-26T06:00:00.001-07:00

Dinosaur Birthday Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A fun, cheerful, bright, dinosaur cake for a four year old boy! One of this week's cakes was this adorable Dinosaur Cake. The only request was that it be age appropriate for a four year old and not scary. No problem!!!

Louis Vuitton Handbag Cake

2010-03-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

This cake was required to be a cake/handbag worthy of a diva! I scaled down the Louis Vuitton Stresa PM bag a bit, otherwise, it is an exact replica of the iconic designer's classic design!

Louis Vuitton Handbag Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The attention to detail, from the stitches to the zipper and gold hardware are what really transforms this cake into an edible work of art!

A detail from the sheet cake that accompanied the handbag cake:

Golden Belt 3rd Friday Event!

2010-03-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great night at Golden Belt last night! It was so great to meet so many wonderful people and artists and be able to share some of our Baker's Cakes with them!!!

The most popular item of the night... Red Velvet Cupcakes!!! A special thanks to Scientific Properties for inviting Baker's Cakes to participate in the Golden Belt 3rd Friday event and to Jeff, Meredith, and Jay for all their help!!!

Lingerie Bridal Shower Cake

2010-03-11T08:02:00.001-08:00

Lingerie Bridal Shower Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

So, I never had a lingerie bridal shower (no complaints here)! I have never been to a lingerie bridal shower (I'm pretty sure I'm ok with that too)! So when I got an order for a Cake for a Lingerie Bridal Shower AND I had free reign with the design, I had some serious research to do! I knew that I wanted it to be tasteful (I do work from home) and cute (a must for all my cakes). First, I asked around. There was definitely a consensus that I could not go with the obvious penis cake. There are lots of cakes online made with a heart shaped pan and then shaped into busts. That didn't seem right to me either. A bunch of women sitting around eating scantily clad cleavage? Nope, that wasn't going to happen. Finally, I determined I had to go with my strength, sugar paste figures. Both the bride and the groom in their underwear? Weird. It had to be the groom reclining in funny boxers and the bride-to-be blushing in her dental scrubs! A perfect cake for a tasteful Lingerie Bridal Shower!

Super Mario and Yoshi Cake

2010-03-09T13:21:00.001-08:00

Super Mario and Yoshi Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

When I got an order for a "Mario riding Yoshi" Cake, I was ecstatic! Because I am, like many other seven year olds, obsessed with the video game, Super Mario Brothers wii!!!

I was thrilled when Santa brought it to my kids for Christmas, and I have been secretly trying to master it at night when I am not swamped with cake orders! Full disclosure, I am stuck on level 8, it is very tricky! Needless to say, it was my pleasure to make this cake.

Pink, Stripes, Dots, and Flowers Topsy Turvy Cake!

2010-03-03T12:37:00.001-08:00

Pink, Stripes, Dots, and Flowers Topsy Turvy Cake!, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

It's a busy busy week! I got to create one of my favorite cakes: the Topsy Turvy Cake! The directives on this cake were: pink, purple, green, stripes, dots, and flowers! Recently my customers have been amazing with their orders, specific enough that I understand what they want, but general enough to leave ample room for creative and artistic freedom! This is why I love making cakes for people!!! (A little shout out here to Pink Cake Box for the inspiration for this cake. Their cakes are amazing!) I still have LOTS of work to do in the kitchen this week on some orders that take me to entirely new places in cake!!!

Barbie Doll Cake

2010-03-01T08:39:00.001-08:00

Barbie Doll Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

I created this simple and elegant Barbie Cake for a customer's five year old daughter. The birthday girl requested that Barbie hold a mini-cake. It's easy to get carried away and cover the entire dress with sparkles and bling, but I attempted to show some restraint and keep the dress simple to focus on the mini-cake and special flower details on the dress.

The cake is Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, covered in rolled fondant. The mini-cake is crispy rice cereal covered in fondant.

Champagne Velvet Cupcakes

2010-02-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

These are some of the decadent cupcakes that I have been working on this week! A Champagne Velvet Cupcake drizzled with a Blush Champagne Simple Syrup and topped with Blush Champagne Buttercream.

Swampfire!

2010-02-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last week I made a Swampfire Cake! Had I ever heard of Swampfire? Absolutely not! Do I still not really know what/who it/he is? Pretty much. Maybe a creature from Ben 10 Alien something or other... Needless to say, this guy landed on my doorstep and it was time to make a cake!

I love love love getting emails like this after a cake goes on it's merry way:

The cake was a huge hit! I just wanted to tell you that is was as delicious as it was beautiful - that is, if "beautiful" is an appropriate word to describe Swampfire. The cake was moist and yummy, and I love the fondant! I have never liked cakes with a lot of fluffy icing, so now I know what I really like! It served a lot - just as you said. Since the cake was nice and tall, the smaller piece cuts were still plenty big enough, and we had some left to take home, even after serving some parents and sibs.

We all loved how you put the flames on the sides. What a creative way to put it all together. And Swampfire was so detailed and just perfect.

It was truly my pleasure to make this cake and bring joy to the birthday boy and his family!

Pookie Cake

2010-02-22T05:49:00.001-08:00

Pookie Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

This cake was an absolute blast to design and create! It was based on Sandra Boynton's children's books and topped with the adorable Pookie! The background colors and lovable animals are inspired directly from the pages of the book, But Not the Hippopotamus.

I illustrated the line drawings with edible marker on white fondant and then painted and hand colored them with a food color wash and edible marker.

The cake itself is many many layers of Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting between the layers AND Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting UNDER a layer of rolled fondant!!! The Pookie Cake along with the matching smash cake were the perfect compliment to a darling 1st birthday party. If only the birthday girl thought so too...

Mini Cupcakes and Paintings!

2010-02-21T05:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a painting class at Labourlove Gallery in the Golden Belt area in downtown Durham, NC. I brought mini cupcakes:

But, I knew it was a sign of what I was meant to paint when gallery owner Kelly Dew, put on one of my favorite bands... Cake!

The "class" was a guided open painting studio session for people of all levels. It was a fantastic experience to join others and pursue a common creative outlet! I can't wait to go back next month! My friend Wendy, at A Southern Accent wrote about last month's class here.