Deja New

This is almost exactly the same cake that I have on display at the boutique right now. Only it is pink and white instead of brown and blue.

This one was made for a baby shower.

Global Warming

This damn global warming is killing me! It's just so hot and it gets hotter earlier every year. The permafrost in my backyard gets smaller each year and I'm worried that if I don't install that solar panel soon, I just might have to mow a lawn or something.

I know that I've commented before on our crazy spring weather, but this is just ridiculous. It is now April 29th. We are having a blizzard! There are six inches so far and it is supposed to snow through the night tonight.

These pictures were taken just after lunch and it looks like dusk.


Now I know I said I hated those who spouted their political views in blog form as fact, but I can't resist this one. Global warming is such a farce and it never ceases to amaze me the otherwise intelligent individuals who buy into this load of crap.

My all time favorite pro-devastation argument is that global warming is actually causing the spring blizzard. Wait...what? But I thought the whole thing was that it got warmer sooner and stayed warmer longer. That may cause more rain, but don't try to sell me that it is causing the high today to be 32. If you really believe that, have I got a great pyramid scheme for you.

So global warming is not the armageddon we all (not really me ever) thought, at least the blizzard makes my garden prettier!

Ribbon

On this cake I used a few new (at least to me) techniques.

I used a new method of curling flowers, apparently the correct way. I still don't have all the tools I need but I'm improvising with what I have around the house. I then used the grass tip to make the flower centers.



Then I used fabric ribbon to trim the bottom of my tiers. This is by far the biggest "cheat" a caker can use. It is enormously more simple than any fondant or icing trim and applies in seconds. Luckily, it is also very cute and everyone loves it. Win-win.

Here is the final product.

Not too shabby.

go team

I had no choice. The hostess' of the boutique are both fans of this team, as are many of their patrons. So in the interest of covering bases, here you go.

Dance

Our little Ry had a dance recital at school yesterday and she was so cute to watch. She obviously loves it and is really graceful.

We love our girl and are proud of how great she does in school.

I need to get her into dance classes!!!

ConGraduations

Yes I realize how lame my title is, but the cake was much cooler.

I had a friend ask if I would make a cake for their son-in-law's graduation from collage in Construction Management. She just wanted a hard hat ... here's what she got.

Unfortuantely the cap is not edible. It is a piece of cardboard that I covered in fondant. I made the tassle out of ribbon and attached it with a thumbtack (colored black with a sharpie).

There is a big 2010 on one side ...

... and the logo of Weber State (the lucky school) and an American flag on the other.

Go ahead and count the stars.

Trial and Error

Sometimes when I make a cake I'm just not sure what it's going to look like when it's finished.

There are several contributing factors.
1. There are times that I have a great idea and I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

2. Other times I have no idea how I'm going to do some element of a cake until I'm half done with it.

3. Then there are the times that I know something will fail miserably but I know I have to try it anyway so that I can do better at it the next time.

This cake was a combination of all three.

1. First, I wanted to frost a cake without fondant and see how smooth I could get it. I wanted sharp corners and a not-quite-fondant look.

It turned out better than I thought it would. It has a rough plaster look, like the walls in a Tuscan villa (haha). I think there is definitly a market for this method.

2. Then, I knew that I wanted fondant flowers trailing up one corner and across the top. I wanted them to be more 3D than I usually do, but I wasn't quite sure the best way to get the right effect.

I tried several methods of "curling" my flowers and finally came up with something that worked best. I wasn't sure if they would stick to the frosting the way they stick to fondant, but so far so good.

3. Lastly, I needed to work on my piping skills. I figured I better try roses. Wow.

Wow again. Monumental failure. The more I made, the worse they got. I guess I need to try the Wilton frosting recipe. Don't get me wrong, I love my frosting recipe and won't be changing it anytime soon. But for piping purposes, it's probably best to start with the right medium.

So anyway, with the first 2 features, this had the potential of being a really cute cake. However, because this was for my own personal eating, I shot for the moon ...

... and missed. Oh well.

Quilter

As many of you know, I enjoy making an occasional quilt. My quilting skills, however, are lacking. I assume it's because it takes too much precision and patience.

But...I have found a nice quilting medium.


This is different from what I normally do becuase the pattern is embeded fondant instead of layered. I opted not to roll them smooth becuase I really like the disjointed look for the quilt.

The idea for this cake originally came from my mother-in-law when I was trying to come up with a cake idea for Relief Society.

The needle is a skewer covered in fondant and strung with ribbon.

This cake is going as a birthday cake for a woman here in Utah who enjoys quilting. Maybe next year Jeanne!

Go Jazz!

It's kinda simple, but it was a last minute request so I didn't have much time. I really had fun making the logo though. I hope I didn't cross any copyright borders!

Go Cougars!

Nuff said.

Baptism

How do you make a symbolically white baptism cake that does not look girly?

I don't know.

Here's my attempt.

Square probably would have been better. It's not like I would make a font or anything, but there's nothing that really screams "I just got baptized". I am open to suggestions.

Guess What?

This was a really fun cake.

I hand painted the fondant to get it to look more like wood and I love how it turned out. I hand rolled each pearl out of fondant and made beads. When they were dried out, I strung them with ribbon. The sand is a combination of graham crackers and brown sugar. Then I totally cheated on the lid and used styrofoam instead of cake because cake would have been too heavy.

Can anyone guess the occasion this was made for? (hint: it's not a birthday cake)

Spring Garden

Not this one.


This one.

Easter Beauties

Believe it or not, these are the best pictures we could get.

Closed eyes


Mr. Buck Tooth

Where's Emma?

Over here!

Look Up!

No Joke

In the last 36 hours we have had 8" of snow and it is still coming down.

Welcome spring!