Roses and Seashells

Last week, I had the pleasure of creating this beauty.

This is a simple, classic, elegant, modern wedding cake – I adore it. The cake itself is Chocolate Cow Cake, frosted in Vanilla Buttercream. The flowers and shells are gumpaste and the pearls are sugar.  The bottom tier is an 8″ barrel size, and the top tier is a 4″ – this cake serves around 20 – 25 people.

I had so much fun pulling out the gumpaste tools, and making these flowers. I hadn’t had the chance to make flowers for a cake in a couple months!

This one is my favorite

I don’t have a lot to say about it. I think the simplicity speaks for itself. I just wanted to share. =)

I have quite a few cakes booked for next month, so watch for some new ones!

Happy Baking, ya’ll

Let’s Play Catch Up!

The past month has been full of amazing craziness!  Let’s take this post to get all caught up!

In June, I did this elegant beach themed wedding cake:

It is a three-tiered square cake to serve 100 – frosted with buttercream.  All the shells and starfish on the cake are made of fondant { the ones on the table are real }.

The piping is a large Cornelli Lace pattern, to look like coral, and the ‘sand’ is brown sugar.

Here is a detail shot:

I also did two sets of custom cupcakes for Whitney over at The Land of Sunshine!

Whitney’s cuppies are always so fun to make because she chooses the most unique themes!

I also made a 4th of July Cake for my family – it was my first time using the “upside down frosting” technique!  This technique has changed my cake decorating life, like, 100%.

This month, I have also created a new Signature Cake!  Strawberry Cake + Strawberry Jam Filling + Strawberry Buttercream + Chocolate Ganache + Chocolate Covered Strawberries = Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake!

The cake started out like this { I used the upside down technique again, I just LOVE it }

Then it got a border and a topping!

The final product is just heaven in your mouth – sweet tartness from the strawberries and rich dark chocolate, just wow.  I want to give a special THANK YOU to my best friend, Katie, for inspiring me to make this cake – it’s a keeper!

A lot of my time this month has been spent researching and learning about Florida’s new Cottage Food Law.  The new law allows us home bakers to be 100% legitimate and have a small home-based business!  It is very very exciting! =)

That’s it for now, guys!  I promise to not take so long to post next time!

Happy Baking, ya’ll ❤

Peacock Wedding Cake

This weekend, my beautiful sister-in-law, Megan, married a sweet guy, Ruben, and they had a fabulous peacock-themed wedding!  I was so honored to be a part of their wedding, and this cake was SO MUCH fun to make.

Photo by Zac Sirten

This cake was White Velvet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream, covered in homemade Buttercream Fondant {recipes on the recipes tab}.

My favorite part of this cake was the inside – we colored it teal and purple to match the wedding colors!

Photo by Zac Sirten

I hand-made the topper to match the theme of the wedding.  The monogram is wood, that was rubbed gold.

Photo by Zac Sirten

The dots on the side of the cake are buttercream that were painted with edible gold glitter.  It is not noticeable in the photos, but the cake and ribbon are dusted in edible gold glitter as well.  The sparkle in the sunshine was gorgeous!

Photo by Zac Sirten

The groom is a drummer, so the grooms cake was made to look like a drum!  We put the cake on an actual drum stand and used the grooms drum sticks as an accent.

Photo by Zac Sirten

The day was just wonderful and full of love.  The newlyweds just glowed the whole time {and not just because of the heat!}. I was so thrilled to be able to be a part of it – Thanks Megan and Ruben!

Photo by Zac Sirten

Thanks to Zac Sirten for the gorgeous photos!

 

Happy Baking, ya’ll! ❤

I Have a Fondness for Black & White Weddings!

This week, I got to create a beautiful Black & White Wedding Cake for some great Sweet For Sirten clients!

This cake was 3 tiers, serving approximate 100 people.  The bottom, 12″, tier was White Velvet Cake, and the top two, 9″ and 6″, tiers were White Cake with Berries.  The whole cake was frosted in White Chocolate Buttercream and covered in homemade Buttercream Marshmallow Fondant.  { recipes on the recipe tab }

The black fantasy flowers, leave and vines were fondant – the flower centers are edible sugar diamonds!  The large flowers are dusted in black luster dust, giving them a little sparkle.  Making sugar flowers is one of my most favorite things, and I had so much fun making these!

Taken at my home before delivery

Flowers like these are made 1 week – 4 days before the cake is assembled, because they have to properly dry.  Then, they are glued to the cake using edible sugarpaste glue.  I started on these flowers 1 week in advance, and made a few every night until a couple days before the cake was baked.   The leaves and vines were made as the cake was assembled, because they laid flat against the cake, so I didn’t need the ‘dry time’.

Taken at my home before delivery

Black & White weddings are near to my heart, because, you see, my wedding was Black & White themed!   So, this wedding brought back a lot of beautiful memories for me.  My cake came from a local bakery { the kind that has been around for 100 years, lol } and was solid white with alternating chocolate and white layers on the inside, for the black & white affect. There aren’t many pictures of my wedding {long story}, but here is one of my love and I cutting our cake, just for old time’s sake. =)

Any way, enough of all that. 😉

Back to the cake!

Each cake I make is like a little baby to me – it is so hard to deliver it and leave! I do miss this one, but I’m so glad that the happy couple and their family/friends enjoyed it!

Happy Baking, ya’ll ❤

Beachy Cupcakes and Baking Lately

I made these cuties for Whitney over at The Land of Sunshine for her Dad’s birthday!

They are Chocolate Cow Cake with Vanilla Buttercream, covered with homemade Buttercream Fondant { recipes on the recipe tab }.

The seashells and starfish are molded white chocolate – it was my first time using my new molds, and I was really happy with how they turned out!  The ‘sand’ is light brown sugar.

I don’t get the opportunity to work with Fondant very much, so I had a lot of fun doing these!

Last week, I made and donated these cuppies to the Relay For Life of South Walton’s Survivor Reception:

They are White Velvet cake with Dreamy Vanilla Buttercream { recipes on the recipe tab }.  Sadly, the event was rained out, but at least they had some yummy cupcakes to enjoy!

I also made this cake for my husband’s co-worker { and good friend } who is moving this week – they all had cake at work on his last day.  I know we will all miss having him around.

I did a ‘rustic’ butercream finish on the cake, and the flowers are silk – very simple and pretty.  The cake is White Cake with Berries and White Chocolate Buttercream { recipes on the recipe tab}.

Thats it for now – wedding cakes coming soon!

Happy Baking, ya’ll =)

I Adore Professional Photos!

My sweet customer, and friend, was kind enough to share some professional pictures of her wedding cake that I did a couple months ago {I also adore facebook!}, so I wanted to share them with you guys!  Her wedding was just gorgeous, and I was so honored to be a part of it.

These all remind me how much I love weddings {and how much I need to improve my cake photography skills!}

Thanks for looking!

Happy Baking, ya’ll ❤

Buttercream Flowers!

I just love the month of May!  The weather is perfect, the beach is perfect – outside is incredible.

By mid-June, the AC will get cranked up to full power and we will all melt as soon as we step out the door – ’tis Florida.

The past week or so, I was crazy inspired to put flowers on cake, but I wanted people to really be able to enjoy them (taste wise).  Most of the people I bake for prefer buttercream over fondant 100%, based on taste and texture.  I didn’t want to just do buttercream roses … too overdone.  So, I decided to just make them up as I went along.

I got this:

Pretty? Yes.  Delicious? Most definitely.

For these flowers {and the cake}, I used Dreamy Vanilla Buttercream {recipe found on the recipe tab}.   The cake itself is Funfetti, at the request of the birthday girl.  To make a Funfetti, I used my basic white cake and threw in some multi-colored sprinkles – it worked!

The cake was a hit, and I have now learned that I can match the inside of a cake to any theme.  Having an Auburn party? Throw in some orange and blue sprinkles for a matching cake!  Pink and Purple wedding theme? Well, you get the idea. 😉

I used varying petal tips to make the flowers, and a #5 tip to make the greenery around the sides.  For the flowers, I just looped petals around and around until I liked it – Jessica style.

This is one of my favorite cakes, I think.  I liked it so much, I used kind of the same idea for Mother’s Day.

For my most wonderful Mama, I made my first ever cupcake bouquet!

This is a really trendy trend right now in the cake world, and a pretty simple concept.  You just get a flower-pot, fit some floral foam into it, and use skewers to attach the cupcakes.  I made green tissue paper “leaves”, tied a bow around it, and called it adorable!

I made all different kinds of made-up buttercream flowers – some petal tip flowers, star tip clusters, pointy ones, shaggy mums, ruffles, I just basically went to town!  The cupcakes were White Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream {recipes on the recipe tab} because that is my Mama’s favorite. =)

I hope you all have the chance to enjoy a delicious buttercream flower real soon – if you need an excuse, call me and we’ll come up with one! =D

Happy Baking, ya’ll ❤

Hummingbird Cake

Last week, my sweet Nana had to have surgery on a broken wrist.  My mother is going to her house this week to help her recover, so I decided that I would send her a “feel better” cake.

Me, send cake, who would have thought?!

I also thought it would be a nice early Mother’s Day gift. =)

I debated for quite some time over what kind of cake I would send – my Nana is a beautiful, kind, young-spirited, classic, Southern lady.  She has a passion for all things old and antique.  I wanted something that would suit her.

What could be better than a classic, Southern, Hummingbird Cake?  I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for the longest time, and I think this was the perfect occasion.   I must say, it is one of the best cakes I have ever made, and my husband declared it his new favorite cake ever (we sampled the ‘left over batter cupcakes’).  I adore all the different textures and flavors … I even think I like it as much as my Chocolate Cow Cake, and I never thought I would love anything more than that!

This recipe originated in Southern Living magazine in 1978  – it was written by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina.  The only change I made from her original recipe is that I cut the oil down to 1 cup, for calories sake.

I have recently fallen in love with the Ranunculus flower – it is my current most favorite flower in the world.  It has so many delicate petals all rounded over each other – I just love it.  I knew I wanted to incorporate it into this classic cake.  I chose to use a silk flower for ease of transport – my Mother is taking the cake on a 5 hour road trip.  A gumpaste flower could melt or absorb moisture from the cream cheese frosting, while a fresh flower could wilt or turn brown.  Silk it was!

As you can see, I went with an ‘old school’ design – pecans up the sides and a pillow of cream cheese frosting on top.  Just like my Nana, classic and beautiful.

Mrs. Wiggins’ recipe {1978}, with a slight change to the oil amount:

“Hummingbird cake”

• 3 cups all-pupose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil {original had 1 1/2 cups}
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
• 2 cups chopped bananas

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup chopped pecans, and bananas. Spoon batter into well-greased and floured cakepans. Bake at 350 degrees F. For 25 to 30 minutes; remove from pans, and cool immediately. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Decorate with 1 cup chopped pecans. Yield: one 9-inch three layer cake, or one two layer 6-inch cake + 12 cupcakes {what Jessica did}.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 (16 ounce) packages powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth.Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Yield: enough for a 3 layer cake {Jessica had lots leftover}.

–Mrs. L.H. Wiggins, Greensboro, North Carolina” —“Making the most of bananas,”Southern Living, February 1978 (p. 206)

This recipe is not friendly to the diet – one cupcake with frosting registered at 13 PointsPlus values for WeightWatchers, but, I must say, that it was TOTALLY worth it!   The flavors are just perfect, and I even love the banana in it {I usually hate bananas} – it was even better cold out of the fridge this morning {yes, I had a cupcake for breakfast, so shoot me.}.

I hope you guys all try and love this recipe as much as I do, and I especially hope  my Nana enjoys her surprise!

Happy Baking, ya’ll =)

It’s a Shabby Chic Garden Party Cake!

Sometimes, a cake has a way of telling you what it wants to be.

This was one of those cakes.

I definitely had different plans for it, but, over the course of its decorating, the cake changed itself.  I hated it at first, but, now, I’m pretty happy that it did.

I call it a Shabby Chic Garden Party Baby Shower Cake! My  husband giggled at me when I announced this the morning of delivery. 😉

The cake itself is a 6″ tier stacked on a 10″ tier and it serves approximately 50 people.  The bottom tier is Vanilla Butter Cake and the top tier is Chocolate Cow Cake.  The whole cake is frosted, filled, and decorated with Dreamy Vanilla Buttercream { recipes on the recipe tab =) }.  The flowers, butterflies, and bird are silk.

The little bird was my favorite.

It is always really fun to get to do a super feminine cake, and I always ALWAYS enjoy creative license.  When my brain {and piping bag} are free from restrictions, the cake tends to take a life of its own, and I LOVE that.

This was a humbling cake, but I adore it.

I also had the pleasure of doing some cupcakes for a sweet return customer this weekend!

These are Chocolate Cow Cake and Chocolate Buttercream with store-bought decorations.  Talk about a double chocolate whammy! These suckers were delicious { I am, admittedly, the biggest chocolate lover in the world! }.

These are White Cake with Berries and Dreamy Vanilla Buttercream.  The lonely yellow cupcake with the pink swirl was special for the birthday girl – she turned 1!  I just loved the pink ruffled baking cups – so cute and different!

It was a super fun, baking-filled, weekend.  I wish every weekend could be like this!

PS.  I have about 20 ‘leftover cake batter/buttercream cupcakes’ sitting on my counter.  Someone please come take them away before I give in and eat 1 {or five}!

Happy Baking, ya’ll ♥

Hydrangea Cake

This evening, I am hanging out with some family members that I hardly ever have the pleasure of seeing, so, I am taking cake.

{ SURPRISE! }

I recently saw this cake on I am Baker:

Click the picture for I Am Baker's amazing tutorial!

So, any of you that know me know that I research – A LOT. I googled around a little and found this picture {that I love} of periwinkle and soft pink Hydrangea, and it inspired me to attempt this cake even more.

All I needed was an excuse to make it.  Hanging out with family = PERFECT EXCUSE!

I wanted the inside of the cake to be light and springy like the outside of the cake, so the cake itself is White Cake with Berries with Fresh Strawberries and White Chocolate Buttercream filling {recipes are on the ‘recipes’ tab}.  The flowers are all piped white chocolate buttercream.  The flower centers are sugar pearls.

The flowers are not perfect replicas of the Hydrangea, by any means, but they were so fun to pipe!  I like that the cake has a very ‘whimsy’ feel.

My cake is a little more blue than the picture, but I like it. =)

I don’t know why every picture I took of the whole cake has that blur on the side – I blame the window and the mirrored cake board.  Ah, oh well.  {Must improve photography skills}.

I did have somewhat of a problem with some of the flowers falling off the sides of the cake.  Lucky for me, I have a terrible habit of not immediately cleaning up my piping bags when I am done piping {I am too excited to take pictures!}, so I just picked them back up and piped some new flowers.  I think this happened because I piped too many flower petals in one spot.

I can’t wait to cut into this cake later this evening – I never get to actually eat the cakes I bake! YAY!

Happy Baking, ya’ll! ❤