The Batman Cake!

 

This cake was an amazing feat for me, it is huge! By far the largest I have ever attempted. It was a 14" and a 10" double layer two tier, made with a homemade vanilla almond scratch cake, filled with a decadent semi-sweet chocolate ganache. It was covered in a thick layer of vanilla buttercream then fondant and accented with handmade semi-sweet chocolate plastic, also known as modeling chocolate. It was stacked and then covered with a shimmery dusting of edible glitter to really catch the eye.

I think this little guy is going to be one happy birthday boy! What an incredible learning experience...I feel so much more confident with larger cakes now! My heartfelt thanks goes out to family this was for, they took a big risk on me (I'm a rookie, right?) and I am SOOO glad it paid off and they are happy. She got a fabulous creation for her little love, and I got the most incredible experience I have had yet in assembling large layers and covering them with fondant. It doesn't get any sweeter than that!

Till next time,

Jessie

A baby shower to remember...

This cake is the largest I have done so far, and a challenge it was! I was asked to do this for a good friend of a friend, and it was quite an honor. It was for a baby shower for a sweet little boy who ended up being born days before his shower! Amazing.  I would like to thank you (you BOTH know who you are) for this opportunity and honor. I hope this cake is exactly what you hoped it would be, and made a wonderful shower memory for all of you!


The bottom tier is a triple layered 10" homemade vanilla butter cake with scratch bavarian creme filling. The top tier is a double layered 6" devil's fudge cake with chocolate ganache filling. The cake is covered in buttercream, then fondant, and is topped with a bear I made out of homemade modeling chocolate or chocolate plastic. I used a dark chocolate plastic to make the bows, the ribbon and some of the accents on the cake.

This cake was SO fun to make, but took many days of prep to complete. Yep, I am still a newbie thus this was a multi day event hehe! Here's to hoping I get faster, and soon, before the cakes get so big they take me weeks LOL. =p

Until next time,
Jessie

The Naruto Cake (children's cake)

 

This cake was made for a friend's little one's birthday. He absolutely loves the tv animated show Naruto, so we surprised him with this cake depicting a particular action scene from the show.

-It is made of a homemade buttermilk yellow cake, and covered/filled with homemade vanilla whipped cream frosting.

-The character on the front, however, is made of homemade fondant, and was quite the adventure to make! He is hand carved and hand painted, and the little ball he holds glistens when the sun hits it thanks to edible glitter! (luster dust)  The lettering is made of homemade fondant as well.

I really enjoyed making this cake, and hope it makes his Birthday a special memory this year.

Always,

Jessie

The Argyle Cake

This cake was one I did for a special friend's birthday party. She loves Argyle print, and Earthy colors so I designed this cake as a surprise for her! It's made from double chocolate tort, homemade German chocolate coconut-pecan filling and topped with a handmade dark chocolate "L" monogram. The green "gumballs" were fondant while the brown ones were malted milk balls! I figured they would taste better and add variety to the cake, not to mention make my job easier!

The difficult part for me with this cake was the geometric design, getting it to fit evenly on the round surface, and the fact that I had to make my own stencil for the diamonds out of paper lol and hand cut each one with an exacto-blade. I am sure I could have ordered a cutter online, but it was short notice. It took forever!

This is about learning for me, as much as it is about showing what I can do for potential future clients, and this cake really taught me a great deal about the importance of measuring when doing precise patterns! Next time, I will be much better prepared! Overall, a big success. Happy Birthday Liz!

Take care everyone!
Jessica Marie

Meet the Quintessential Kitty Cat Cake!

This cake I made for my Son's 2nd Birthday party. It was by far the most complicated, long drawn out process I have ever done! It looks so simple, but believe it or not it took me about 9 hours to complete from start to finish. I was still covered from head to toe in sugar and food coloring when the guests started to arrive! Eek! However, this cake was totally worth it. My Son loved it so much he wouldn't eat it at first, opting to whisper sweet nothings in it's ears and meow at it instead! He loved petting it! It was so precious to me.

The cake itself is made out of a vanilla rainbow chip cake mix, yes, I cheated! I knew I had a HUGE task in decorating and assembling this cake in time for the party and just opted on the safe side, being that it was the day of the party!

The body and head are both made out of two layers of cake and are filled with a special homemade dark chocolate ganache filling similar to that which you would find in a truffle center. It was truly decadent!  In addition to being fondant covered, the surface of the cake was sealed prior to, with homemade vanilla buttercream.

-The tail, legs, paws and facial features are all made of fondant

-The facial features were mostly hand painted

-The "coat" is hand marbled fondant (color kneaded in)

-The only parts that were inedible were the wire whiskers, respectively

I so enjoyed sharing this cake with all of my friends and family! This was a very special day I will not soon forget...

Until next time,

Jessica Marie

"The Mighty Cheeseburger Cake"

This is a cake I designed and made for my Husband's birthday this year. It was also my first time working with homemade fondant, and it proved challenging hence the bottom layer not being smooth! I have corrected that issue now, however, and really enjoy working with fondant.

The bottom layer and "bun" are both made of yellow butter cake, with fluffy vanilla buttercream and MMF (marshmallow fondant) in the case of the bottom layer. I decided not to cover the "bun" in fondant because it was supposed to be a bun and was already bread-like without my help! I will never understand why people cover their fondant buns when trying to make realistic burger cakes!

-The mayo and ketchup are colored piped buttercream
-The condiments, fries and gumballs are all made of hand painted fondant
-The "sesame seeds" are pearl colored non-perils
-The "burger patty" was made with dark chocolate fudge brownies

It took me about 4 hours to make, but it was well worth it! I had never attempted to  make a specialty cake before this, and was really shocked when it came out looking like something other than cake! So, here lies the beginning of my adventures with fondant. The next cake I ended up doing really demonstrates how beautiful and smooth fondant can be when you get the hang of it!

See you next time!
Jessica Marie