Twilight Cake for Mom

This month alone, Sarah bought 6 cakes from me and so I wanted to do something special for her. She has bought several other cakes from me in the past and has posted them onto her blog. Her mom has commented on the cakes and happened to be visiting Salt Lake this year during her birthday. Sarah said that her mother had hinted all week about her potential birthday cake and what she would want me to make for her. In the end, Sarah wanted to surprise her mom with a unique Twilight cake and to give back to Sarah, I thought I could make her an awesome, over-sized cake. This way, I could surprise Sarah with a much bigger cake and Sarah could surprise her mom. It worked out pretty well. :)

The chess pieces, flowers, and apple were all made out of fondant and all of the cakes were covered in homemade marshmallow fondant. The second tier with the chess board squares was real cake (German Chocolate Cake: Chocolate cake layered with coconut, chopped pecans and chocolate buttercream) and the other three tiers are fake cakes. I cut the "Twilight" logo out of fondant so that it looked just like the book title. This cake was one of the most simplified cakes that I've made and trust me, I wanted to put more and more and more on it but I tried really hard to cut back to make it look simple and organized. I really hope Sarah's mom loves the cake.

Oh, I have to mention that Sarah wins the award for most unique flavors tried. She's ordered everything from Cherry Chocolate cake with sliced almonds and cream cheese frosting (her creation) to Lemon cake with chocolate buttercream (although that was for a friend). Thank you, Sarah!!

Robot Cake, anyone?

Keith wanted a unique cake for Cassandra's birthday. They both love robots and so he thought a robot cake would be a good idea. He gave me a few pictures of different toy robots that they love and I just tried to make a compiled version of them. The body of the robot is cake while the legs, head, and arms are all fondant. Cassandra's daughters wanted Cinnamon and Sugar Cake (cinnamon flavored cake layered with buttercream and more cinnamon). I thought this lil' guy was really cute but I have to admit that I think his body is a little too big for his body parts... his arms and legs are just a touch too small. Luckily, Keith is a friend and didn't mind the over sized body because it meant more cake to eat. Keith later told me that Cassandra loved it so much that they just stared at it for a while. She didn't want to cut into the lil' guy. In the end, they ate the cake and kept the head since it's fondant. I hope it's a trophy on her shelf or something like that.... that's what I do. :)

Alright, so to make a robot cake, you just need to make sure you get the proportions right (which I clearly didn't do here!). I made the legs and arms and head in advance so that they would dry and harden in place. For the body of the robot, I made "panels" out of fondant that I adhered to the side of the cake with buttercream. This way, I can decorate the panels early and save time in the end. So much fun!

Hannah Montana, Take 2

Brookie turned five and to celebrate, her mother wanted to get a fun cake Hannah Montana style. This 8-inch round cake was covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and decorated with fondant accents. There are light pink "dragees" around the diamonds to give the cake a little extra cuteness. The cake was Rainbow Bright flavored, which is vanilla cake dyed three different colors (pink, purple, and yellow) and layered with buttercream and sprinkles.

In order to make the guitar and the "5," I hand shaped the pieces and then let them dry overnight to make sure that they hardened in time to stand up on the cake. The stars were cut out of fondant and then a thin flower wire (20 gauge) was slipped inside of them right before I put them into the cake as well. Brookie loved the cake, as did Jasmine, her mother. They were so sweet when they came to get it and Brookie looked so cute in her rockin' Hannah Montana outfit. I hope the party went swimmingly!

Pink and Brown Baby Shower Cake

Dominique needed a baby shower cake for a friend and had a cake idea in mind. She had a picture of a cake that was square, blue and brown, and a bow on top. She wanted something similar but for a girl's shower. Dominique had the idea of putting baby feet on the cake as well. This was a 6-9inch cake covered in homemade marshmallow fondant. Both tiers were vanilla cake with raspberry cream filling and raspberry buttercream. The bow on top was also made out of fondant that I let dry overnight to make sure the pieces harden in that shape. I love how simple but cute this cake is. I hope the mommy-to-be was pleased as well.

More Mario, Luigi, and Yellow Toad

After Mitchell's birthday, came his brother, Maddox's birthday. Maddox wanted a Mario Kart themed birthday cake and again, I ensured Hellen that I had done plenty of research on this topic as well. Like I said in my last post, my brothers and I used to stay up late after my parents had gone to sleep playing Mario Kart. Maddox wanted the infamous Rainbow Level for his cake and I was up for the challenge. Hellen also said that Maddox wanted Luigi and Yellow Toad on the cake so now I was really in for some work! The chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream was covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and the characters were made out of fondant as well. Although it was a challenge, this cake was SO MUCH FUN to make. Making 3-D characters takes a lot of time and effort especially because these characters are so recognizable. I knew I had to get them right or else my brothers wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

This second picture is of the matching Mario cupcakes that went with the last Mario cake. I modeled these off of a set of cupcakes I saw online that I love! I've had that picture in my set of research cakes for years now and so I was so happy to hear that Hellen saw the same set and wanted the same cupcakes. Yay! They are chocolate cupcakes topped with buttercream and marshmallow fondant toppers. I hope my brothers are proud!

Taking it Back to Super Mario Brothers

A few weeks ago, Hellen contacted me about her two sons' birthdays. Last year, we did a Sonic the Hedgehog themed cake and so this year, I was really excited to see what she had in mind. I was so excited to hear that the boys wanted Mario themed cakes. Mitchell's birthday was first and he wanted a Super Mario themed party. For his cake, we did a few different scenes from the game around the sides. It was so much fun to "research" this cake by playing Mario on the Wii. haha. Here are some shots of the other sides of the cake. The 8-inch square cake was a Peanut Butter No-Cup Cake, which is chocolate cake layered with peanut butter buttercream. All of the decorations are made out of homemade marshmallow fondant. SO much fun! I hope my brothers are proud that all of the "research" we did as kids is finally paying off. :)

Very Colorful Tiki Heads!

Sarah needed a surprise birthday cake for her husband's 30th birthday bash. They were having a Hawaiian themed luau type of party and so I thought Tiki heads would be a cool way to go. It must have been fate because she bought party decor that matched these colors almost exactly! One of the tiki heads was "If You like Pina Colada" Cake (pineapple cake layered with coconut buttercream and in this case, toasted coconuts) and the other cake was Coconut Cream Cake (coconut cake layered with coconut buttercream, coconut flakes, and coconut cream filling... that's a lot of coconut!).

This cake was especially fun to make because I felt like a kid again. It was more a free-flowing type of cake instead of sticking to a rigid plan. Essentially, I had an idea of what I wanted the tiki heads to look like but in the end, I just kept layering on more and more colors and elements to the cake until I felt they had enough going on. Because the cakes were so tall, there were two separate tiers of cake in each head (that sounds weird).

Sarah was so excited about the cakes that she took this picture right before the party and sent it to me before the bash even started. :) I'm so glad she loved them and I hope they tasted as delicious as they look!

Hannah Montana's Shooting Stars

This week was the week of 6 cakes! It was so much fun and exhausting at the same time. The first cake to go out was Olivia's 5th birthday cake. She loves Hannah Montana and her mom, Sophie, was going all out for this party. Along with this cake, Olivia was getting a personalized Hannah Montana dress and party. Pretty sweet, if you ask me! To celebrate the occasion, the top cake was a Buttery Yellow Cake layered with chocolate buttercream and the bottom tier was a Rainbow Bright Cake (sweet vanilla cake dyed three different colors to match the design and then layered with buttercream and sprinkles). Everything on this cake is edible with the exception of the wires holding up the stars. If you know anything about Hannah Montana, you might recognize the purple guitar and the Happy Birthday Banner on top that's modeled after the Hannah Montana logo. I did a similar cake to this one a while back and Sophie loved it so much that she wanted something similar. We added the microphone in the middle tier because Olivia loves to sing. Although she was shy, I think Olivia was excited about it all :)

In order to make the shooting stars, I cut out stars from fondant at least two or three nights before the cake is due. I immediately slide a thin wire (I use flower wire) into the stars and then simply let them dry until I put them into the cake. It's very simple but gives it an extra something.

Pink and Brown Floral Wedding Cake

Mishon needed a wedding cake and saw one that I made a few months ago. She wanted something similar but still unique and personalized for her wedding and wedding colors. The top tier was Brownie Lovers Cake (chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate ganache and a layer of brownies), the middle tier was Mint Chocolate Chip Cake (vanilla cake layered with mint buttercream and chocolate chips), and the bottom was Cookies & Cake (vanilla cake layered with chopped Oreos and buttercream).

This 6-8-10 inch cake is covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and the floral pattern you see is buttercream dyed brown to match the wedding colors. The top picture is a bit dark so I wanted to show a closer picture of the floral detail and the ribbon color. I've said it before and I'll say it again, sometimes the more simple cakes are the most difficult to execute. This cake involved some trials and tribulations but with support, I made it through :) Mishon loved the cake so that's all that matters!

Banana Cream Pie Cake

I wanted to share a picture of what the Banana Cream Pie Cake looks like on the inside. Here you can see three layers of sweet banana cake and buttercream. It's hard to see here but there are layers of banana cream and sliced bananas in between the layers of cake as well. This is one of Rosie and Paul's favorite cakes (they get to taste most of my flavor creations). Yummy!

Salt Cake City's First Official Caking Class

I am so happy to discuss my first Salt Cake City caking class!! This weekend, five wonderful women (pictured: Dorothy, Kavina, (me), Lindsay, and Tandy) came over and we caked it up for a few hours. Kavina ordered a cake a while back and expressed her interest in learning how to cake. I asked her if she knew anyone else that wanted to learn and four of her friends came along for the ride. They were awesome for this first class because they knew each other so we were able to joke around like friends. I was truly amazed at how great their cakes turned out! My first cakes didn't look nearly as good as these that they created. Here are pictures of each of their cakes up close so you can get a good idea of their great work!

Kavina did a Cherry Blossom inspired cake. After putting the branches on, she kept saying, "Oh no, I don't like it!" We all encouraged her to keep going and then she fell in love with the finished product. I'm so glad she kept to it because this cake really is beautiful

Tandy was a little more indecisive about her cake design. She was the sarcastic one of the group who kept us laughing through the powdered sugar and fondant kneading. After taking quite a bit of time to choose her colors and design, she came up with this cute cake. Great work, Tandy! Sorry it was such a work out!

Lindsay loves ladybugs (as can be see by the adorable 3-D ones on the cake). I gave the women a few cake sketch options for inspiration and Lindsay modified a garden theme to incorporate her love of ladybugs. She made the ladies and then used an edible marker for the dots on their backs. Check out that awesome fondant job! It was her first try and pretty flawless!

Jana was quiet and focused throughout the cake class. She chose her color scheme nicely and layered her dots wonderfully. I love the tiny little bow that she added at the bottom of the cake for an extra adorable touch. Great job, Jana!

Dorothy was the shining star of the class (well, Tandy thought she was actually a caker just pretending to be a novice :) Dorothy was the first one done in nearly all of the steps in the process and took charge of her cake. She made this cake for her granddaughter with lots of love (obviously). So cute!

Thank you, ladies, for a great class! It was so much fun for me and I think a bit of a work out for some of you, huh! :) I hope you showed your creations off and enjoyed the spoils of making a cake!

Future Salt Cake City Cake Classes:

If anyone is interested in learning how to cake (or knows someone who might love a class on caking), this first cake class is a nice place to start. This class is 100% hands-on and all of the materials are supplied for you so you just have to show up ready to work and get a little covered in powdered sugar. In this class, each student made their own batch of marshmallow fondant, and then torted and covered their cakes in buttercream. Then, they colored their fondant and decorated their cakes according to their designs. Throughout the class, I provided the students with different tips, tricks, and hands-on instruction along with a full binder of the information covered in class. The best part is that each student gets to take their creations home to eat with friends and family. Feel free to email me with any questions about the class at SaltCakeCity@gmail.com. If you have a group of four friends or family that are interested, we can set up a personal cake class for you just as this cake class was for these ladies. Thank you!

Wooden Chess Board Cake

Sarah was celebrating her 5th wedding anniversary and needed something made out of wood for her gift. After thinking through a few options, she came up with the chess board theme. The 8-inch square cake was covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and the pieces are also made of MMF. In order to make the "wood" look as real as possible, I rolled out side panels of brown fondant to fit the sides of the cake. I then used a pizza cutter to make lines or indents in the panels. After adhering them to the side of the cake, I used a paintbrush to brush on brown food coloring in different layers. I also hand-painted the top of the chess board so that the colors matched the side wood panels. In order to make the pieces, I mimicked a chess board that I had and simply rolled different shapes and skewered them on a toothpick to keep them together.

The cake was a White Chocolate Dipped Cherry Cake (vanilla-cherry cake with cherries baked in, layered with white chocolate ganache) and I was afraid that it would be too sweet because if you've ever tried white chocolate ganache, you know it's SWEET. Luckily, Sarah wrote back the next day saying, "We loved, loved, LOVED this cake. We both couldn't believe how great the 'wood' came out. The wood 'grain' was amazing. We probably kept checking it out for over an hour before we were willing to cut into it. We felt bad about cutting into it until we tasted the cake. I think it was the tastiest cake so far! Nate did think it was a touch too sweet but since I don't eat the fondant, for me, it was perfect!" Thank you so much, Sarah! I'm excited to make three more cakes for this month! :)

Teal and Black Tall Button Cake

I couldn't come up with a better name for this cake but it's really tall, and it has black and teal colors with buttons down the front... so I thought the title was descent. Anyway, Amanda was getting married and needed a pretty big cake. She saw one that she loved and adapted it slightly with the color difference and was very gracious to let me put my spin on it. The whole cake is covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and the flowers and decor are all marshmallow fondant too. The top and third tier were Brownie Lovers Cake (chocolate cake layered with a full layer of actual brownies and chocolate ganache) while the second and bottom tiers were Snow White Cake (vanilla cake layered with vanilla cream filling and buttercream). The second tier was 6-inches tall while the other three were 4-inches tall. It's a new trend in wedding cakes and Amanda was brave enough to order it. I think it looks pretty spectacular and I know she also loved the end result.

Because of how big it was, I had to assemble it on location. Luckily, Amanda's parents and bridal party were really great to not stare at me the whole time :) Assembling a wedding cake on site is already stressful enough so having viewers would have been even more nerve racking. Well it turned out that Amanda's parents and bridal party had quite a bit of getting ready to do themselves so it worked out nicely. When her mother saw the cake, she said that it was "So Amanda!" There couldn't have been a better compliment for a caker like me! Oh, so much fun!!

Baby Shower Cake with Matching Cupcakes

I'm sorry I've taken so long to get some of this cakes posted. It's been quite a long and difficult three weeks getting the semester wrapped up. Thanks for being patient!

One of my closest friends is pregnant (weird for me, I have to be honest! She has a baby bump and everything!) Anyway, I flew out to Monterey, California, to celebrate her first baby by making the cake. She wanted matching cupcakes as well, which I told her would be more labor intensive but I would do it... just for her :) So I matched the theme from the baby shower invites to make the bottom tier of the cake, the decor of the party for the middle tier, and Kelly's favorite type of design for the top tier. I tried not to make it too pink so I threw in some blue to even it out a bit. The cakes were covered in homemade marshmallow fondant as were the decorations. The top and bottom tiers were fake cakes and I had to pack them in my suitcase to get them to Monterey. Talk about the scary plane ride of my life! You know when you're sitting in the plane looking out of the window and you can see the "throwers" throwing your bag onto the conveyor belt? With two fake cakes in my suitcase, I nearly had a heart attack!

Anywho, the middle tier was Spices & Cake (cinnamon spiced cake layered with vanilla cream filling and buttercream) and the cupcakes were strawberry cupcakes with pink and white buttercream and some were sprinkled with crystallized sugar. All in all, I had a great trip out to Monterey, had a break from school and grading, and got to spend time with some great people.

Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Jones, for letting me shack up at your beautiful home and for letting me use your kitchen to attempt to make a decent-looking cake with your kitchen tools. :) Congrats, Kel and Kevo on your first baby girl! I'll be ready to feed her tons of sugar when I visit!

Braces Smiley Face

Peter needed a cake to celebrate getting his braces off, plus it was a really thoughtful gift idea for his orthodontist. You know, because orthodontists and sugar go so well together :) His idea was to have a smiley face with braces on it and here's the end result. Just so you know, there was already a smiley face with braces that we were mimicking here so this extra happy smiley face wasn't all my brain child. The cake was covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and decorated with it as well. The flavor was Ruby Red Velvet cake (red velvet cake layered with cream cheese frosting). Ahh, spreading the happiness one cake at a time... haha.