Karma's Kindergarten Graduation Cake

My baby girl graduated from Kindergarten and I was asked to supply the cake for the celebration. Paddington Bear is the Kindergarten class mascot so the teacher gave me free reign as long as he was incorporated in some way.

Paddington is made from rice crispies and covered in store bought fondant. Home made fondant is too soft, and it's difficult to get these bright, rich colors, so even though I can't stand the stuff, I used store bought to make his little outfit.

The cake is two separate 11 x 15 cakes, each cut in half and stacked on top of itself. That way, I could make one side of the cake chocolate, with chocolate mousse, and then the other side of the cake was vanilla with vanilla mousse. It's iced with vanilla buttercream and the suitcase details are fondant and chocolate clay.

Toyia's Engagement Party Favors

As matron-of-honor, I offered to provide the party favors for my best friend's engagement party. These are rolled sugar cookies hand decorated with royal icing; there are edible pearls on the dress cookie and edible glitter on the ring. I made the tags as well and used them to seal the bags. They were definitely a hit and I just might be crazy enough to make a few for her bridal shower in a couple of weeks...

I've decided I'm not a huge fan of decorated cookies =) but they do serve a purpose.

Milan's 4th Birthday Cake

A Disney classic - Alice in Wonderland. This cake is a single tier rich vanilla cake with raspberry mousse filling and airbrushed vanilla buttercream. The tea cup on top has a mini cake of the same flavor and filling, topped with melted chocolate to look like tea. The customer supplied the toy figurines and asked that I work them into the design. All other design elements are edible. Complete 360 degree design!

Jayda's 6th Birthday Cake

This is a three tier hawaiian themed birthday cake. It's a rich vanilla cake with a creamy strawberry mousse and fresh strawberry filling, iced in strawberry buttercream and topped with homemade fondant. The tiki mask is hand molded from homemade chocolate "clay" and the tiki torches, surf boards and bamboo plaque are all hand decorated gumpaste. The bottom tier is an airbrushed sunset, the middle tier is hand painted hibiscus flowers and the top tier is a fondant grass skirt edged with a leaf lei. I had also made a flower lei which I accidentally left at home as I was rushing out of the house thirty minutes late to deliver the cake.

I think this is my most favorite cake by far! I used a few new techniques and I was really happy with the way things turned out.

Chloe's 7th Birthday Cake

This is a vanilla cake with raspberry mousse filling, iced with vanilla buttercream. The decorations are gumpaste flowers tinted shades of blue and dusted with pink luster dust, and the topper is a bamboo number seven made from gumpaste and hand painted.

Angelina's 4th Birthday Cake

This cake was created for a little girl celebrating her 4th birthday at Wild Things Animal Park. The top two tiers are white cake with strawberries 'n cream filling; the bottom tier is chocolate with chocolate mousse filling. It's covered in homemade marshmallow fondant which I tinted a light green. Then the background foliage is airbrushed and hand-painted on. The animals, trees, presents etc. are all hand crafted out of fondant.

Jaday's 20th Birthday Cake

This is a chocolate fudge cake with a banana creme mousse filling decorated to look like a Coach purse. It is covered with fondant and has gumpaste accents. I have also attached a picture of the actual purse.

Isaiah's 5th and Dominique's 8th Birthday Cake

This is a three tier mad hatter style cake. All three tiers are 8" rounds, covered in homemade fondant and topped with gumpaste candles. I also made the birthday kids individual chocolate cakes topped with strawberries.

April's 25th Birthday Cake

This is a two-tier stacked gifts cake. Vanilla cake with strawberry cheesecake mousse and fresh strawberry filling, iced with strawberry buttercream and covered with homemade strawberry fondant. I hate to say this - but it's probably the best fondant I've ever tasted!

I had made a beautiful gumpaste looped bow but on the night before it was due, our new cat found where I had hidden it and subsequently dropped it from the highest point in the house. Of course there was no time to recreate...so I had to improvise...

Taylor's 2nd Birthday Cake

This Spongebob Squarepants cake is a White Almond Sour Cream cake filled with strawberry mousse and fresh strawberries. The flavor of the mousse reminds me of Nestle strawberry milk. The pineapple is made from the same flavor cake.

Spongebob, Patrick and the number 2 at top are rice krispy treats covered with gumpaste and hand decorated. Gary is all gumpaste and hand decorated. The flower shapes are candy melts and the happy birthday sign and streamers are gumpaste. Spongebob is even holding two candles for the birthday boy!

Summer's 13th Birthday Cake

This is a two-tiered cake, covered in mostly homemade marshmallow fondant (the black is store bought), zebra stripes and sugar pearls. Chocolate with chocolate mousse filling for the bottom layer and funfetti with homemade strawberry/blackberry jam filling for the top layer. Gumpaste stars on top.

I can see where little fingers decided to pick at the pearls ;) and test or maybe redistribute them?

Giselle's 3rd Birthday Cake

This cake was made for my niece's 3rd birthday. She loves the cartoon Ni Hao Kai Lan and wanted a Kai Lan birthday cake. The cake is a two-tier rich chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling, iced in buttercream with fondant accents. The characters were hand decorated, made from gumpaste.

Eagle Scout Court of Honor

I was asked to make the cakes for another Eagle Scout Court of Honor celebration. This means a lot to me, not only to be supplying the cakes for this milestone, but also because the cakes I supplied for the last celebration made an impression! Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and white almond sour cream cake with lemon curd filling.

2009 Monterey County Fair

Well this year it was all about second place. People tell me I should be happy with second place. Well, I'm a sore loser...when I enter a competition, I enter to win baby! I entered a decorated cake in the fair theme (which was Reel in the Fun), shown here: I also entered a cake into the special event category which won Viewer's Choice in addition to second place, which I was very excited about. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of that cake...but it was good! It was called Hummingbird Cake, which is like a banana/pineapple/pecan cake with cream cheese frosting.

Softball Party

This is a cake for my daughter's softball team party. Yellow/chocolate marbled cake with chocolate-chocolate chip mousse filling and buttercream frosting. The jerseys and softball are made of fondant; the jerseys are identical to the ones they wear during games. I also made rolled sugar cookies as gifts for the team.

Eagle Scout Court of Honor

These cakes were made for an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. They are both 12" rounds; one is chocolate with chocolate mousse filling and the other is white almond sour cream cake with homemade lemon curd filling. They are iced in buttercream. The topper is a handmade Eagle Scout medal, the ribbon is fondant and the "metal" pieces are gumpaste, hand painted with food coloring and/or luster dust. The medals are laying on a piece of fondant used as a sort of handkerchief or piece of silky fabric.

Summer's 12th Birthday Cake

This birthday cake is three layers, covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and chocolate fondant. The layers are funfetti (birthday girl's request) with strawberry jam and cream filling and chocolate with candy studded cream filling (good n' plenty filling, see sidebar for more info).

Chocolate Hazlenut Cake

Chocolate hazlenut cake filled with chocolate hazlenut mousse mixed with Toblerone candy pieces. Iced with a chocolate icing/Nutella combo and topped with Ferrero Rocher candies.

Good 'n' Plenty

This picture provides a look at the inside of a "Good 'n' Plenty" cake. Please see the side bar flavor combinations for more detail on this cake. The cake is covered with fondant and decorated with a free hand dot art design. Just playing around on a rainy Sunday!

Washtub Baby Shower Cake

Lemon cake with blackberry filling and lemon cream cheese frosting. The washtub boards are fondant.

Bass Fish Cake

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The bass fish is made from rice krispie treats, covered with fondant and hand painted with food coloring and luster dust. Since this was an out of town order, the customer was given additional decorations to place on the cake prior to serving. The smaller picture was taken by the customer after she assembled the remaining decorations.

Chloe's 5th Birthday Cake

The bottom cake is chocolate fudge with a hostess style cream filling. The middle and top cakes are funfetti with a strawberry jam/whipped cream filling. The cake is iced with a whipped cream/cream cheese frosting. The flowers are fondant ribbon roses of various sizes and shades.

Karma's 3rd Birthday Cake

Top layer is pumpkin cake with ginger cheesecake filling, middle layer is carrot cake with maple cream cheese filling and bottom layer is chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. Iced in buttercream tinted a light sage and decorated with three different shades of purple fondant flowers. Each flower was dusted with luster dust, a shimmery glittery type of powder.

Softball Cookies

These are rolled sugar cookies decorated with royal icing for an end of the year softball team party.

Launch Party - Tiara Event Planning

Toyia Connor, my best friend for the last 19 years, recently held a launch party for her new business, Tiara Event Planning. I made this cake for her, using her favorite colors, red and yellow. The tiara is made from candy melts. The pillow is the actual cake, covered in fondant with a fondant rope border.

Black and Pink Flame Wedding Cake

This wedding cake was originally supposed to match the bride's dress. Unfortunately she wasn't able to get the dress she wanted. It's a three tier cake iced in black chocolate buttercream with pink fondant flames. The topper is a gumpaste monogram.