Cake Notes

Cake is just one way that I enjoy expressing myself creatively. I am also a musician and enjoy creating a whimsical little fairy garden in my yard. Enjoy seeing the end results of my creative process in the kitchen and craft table! Cake in one word is-- joy.

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Little Baby Bum

Boston cream pie with fondant and cereal treat character/rainbow. Turning 1 is pretty special!

#little baby bum

#first birthday cake

#fondant

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Solstice 2020

Gingerbread cake with vanilla mandarin icing. Fresh grated cinnamon on top. Wishing a Joyous Solstice to you and yours. 

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Gingerbread House

Not technically a cake; a lot of the skills can come in handy when you are decorating your yearly gingerbread house!

Okay... I honestly cannot tell which side is the “back”. It just has two front sides ;). 

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Christmoustime

This was an orange vanilla cranberry cake with a Jim Shore Mickey and Minnie figurine adorning the top. December 2016.

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Cumpleaños Feliz

My abuelita turned 90 last year and we had a fiesta for her. I wanted to make a cake to honor and celebrate her. The bottom layer was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, the middle was a brown sugar bourbon derby cake, and the top was banana health toffee. 

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Quinceañera

     In Mexican culture, it is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, marking her passage from girlhood to womanhood; the term is also used for the celebrant herself. The cakes and celebrations in Mexico are elaborate, like wedding receptions. 

     Here in the States, it can be a lot less elaborate, like in the case of some good friends of ours, but I still loved making a cake that embodied the feeling of a grand celebration. This is the first first attempt at a smaller tiered cake- so to achieve maximum stability and shape the top tier is made of layered cereal treats.

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Lego

Basic Lego brick cake. It was super hard to make a rectangular cake with straight edges! The studs on top are made of cereal treats cut out uniformly with a 4″ circle cutter. 

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Oreo III

It’s like the Toy Story movies.... the sequels are better than the original.

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2019 Grad Cake

I’m so happy with how the gold tassel turned out! Light beige fondant pushed through a clay extruder, then dusted with gold lustre, created the desired result. One of my favorite graduation quotes - “It was worth the hassel, I got my tassel.”

#graduation hat #cake #tassel #mortar #scroll #diploma

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Chocolate and vanilla marble cake on the inside with layers of chocolate ganache and vanilla custard.... So, basically a giant eclair. 

#cake #layer #eclair #mini roses #ganache

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Raspberry Rose

Chocolate layer cake with raspberry rose glaze folded into a mousse. Chocolate ganache poured over the top! I’m excited about the mirror-like finish. I have tried to recreate that shiny top, but this is my best one so far. Macarons and flowers bought @ Whole Foods. 

#layer cake #ganache #raspberry #rose #macaron

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Fantastic Beasts

This was a collaborative cake done with a friend for her daughter’s Birthday a few years ago. It was fun decorating with a pal who appreciates how difficult it can be to work with fondant!

#fantastic beasts cake #suitcase

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Rainbow Confetti

When you are Five, and mom is a baker, you might get some pretty specific ideas about what you want in a cake, and it might be a little ambitious. My youngest graduated from Kindergarten a couple of years ago, and this cake design is his. Needless to say, his class loved it!

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Coconut Lemon Creme Cake

The name says it all! I used the finest coconut extract (found the real thing at Whole Foods), candied lemon slices (from Trader Joe’s) and coconut creme in the cake batter and whipped icing. It was delicious, and I think it achieved its purpose: to show a dear friend of mine how much I love her!

#coconut cake #coconut lemon cake #candied lemon

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Simple and Succulent

Sometimes I like to keep my decorating simple, and succulents are excellent for that type of presentation. Lemon lavender cake with vanilla mousse filling. I’m sure I’ll use succulents as a decoration again in the future- and next time I will try making them from sugar paste, instead of.... whatever fake ones are made of ;) !

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Solstice Celebration

This Orange Vanilla Solstice cake was for a 2016 celebration. Dinner with friends and family was followed by ice candles and luminaries lighting up the nighttime snow as we walked through a spiral made of juniper boughs.

 As each person walked the spiral, he or she meditated upon their wishes for the New Year. Here’s a pic of my child lighting the spiral:

 Those who felt like it wrote their wishes on paper and cast them into the solstice bonfire. We loved the tradition so much, we celebrate it each year. I still celebrate Christmas, but it’s nice to have a winter night when I gather with my loved ones to celebrate, and there is absolutely no pressure ... Just joy and a reminder that the sun is the source and sustenance of all life.

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Andes Mint Torte

So what’s a torte? I thought you’d never ask! A torte is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with whipped cream, fruit, mousses, or sometimes custard. This is a Guinness Stout chocolate torte with double layers of mint mousse and milk chocolate ganache in between the cake layers. It was tortally great. 

#andesmint #torte #Guinness #chocolate #mint