My Latest and Greatest

My cousin needed a cake for her grandmother and sent me a picture of what she wanted.  The cake is pretty much a duplicate except for the colors used and the basket weave.  I also added a fondant ribbon and bow since buttercream bows are NOT my forte.

Aside from the monotony of doing so many zebra cakes at the bakery, I do love it when the order calls for zebra print details.  An example being the "2" on the shirt.  I roll out a thin pin of white fondant, press tiny pieces pinched from the black fondant, and then roll the all together.  I think this gives it a more natural effect because both colors become one piece of fondant to use cutters on. 

This order was for an anniversary and it called for gold roses.  I wish there was a way to make actual gold roses from buttercream instead of just yellow roses.

This was the very FIRST time I ever used an edible image.  I think it turned out nicely.  Not really a big fan when the edible images are over used.  They make a cake look cluttered.

This has a funny story behind it...

As I'm checking out my orders for the day, I notice another order for a Mario cake.  They even attached a picture of what they wanted. (I love having a reference photo!)  As I inspect the picture, I think to myself, "WOW!  This cake looks awesome!  How did they get such detail?  Have I "googled" that cake in the past?"  Then, a moment of clarity hits me like a ton of bricks...I MADE the cake that picture!  That's where I've seen is before.  The only difference was that the little figures are plastic on this cake but they give just the right touch.

Copy Cat

This is my attempt at copying Tinkerbell onto a cake in fondant.  Not my best work, but not that bad, either.  She was VERY difficult and took WAY longer than I planned.  Of course the eyes and mouth were the hardest pieces to make.  All the rest was rather easy.  I just basically free-handed everything with an exacto knife.

Then, I had to copy all the Mario scenes from the game.  Granted, they are not exact replicas but I got close.  My favorite are the plants coming out fo the pipes!  The bricks were pretty fun to make as well.  I cannot take credit for Mario or Luigi or the big star on top.  My boss made them.  But I did everything else.

And finally, a carnival cake based on a napkin, which had the dots and strips on it.  The little girls mother drew an example of what she wanted but left a lot of room for creativity.  I always LOVE those kind of orders!  I think she will be very pleased.

Mario Brothers!!

We had an order for a Mario cake and I think it turned out rather well.  The check pattern wasn't very difficult, just time consuming.  The hardest parts were the red line of buttercream and the white spirals, also made of buttercream.  Fondant would have been easier but the customer wanted buttercream.  The 5 white dots on the top are the supports for the Nintendo DS the customer will be placing on top of the cake.  Isn't that so cool!!!!

Also, I was so proud of my lettering!  I had to mimic the font used in the original reference picture.  Not bad for buttercream and free hand!

Here's the original...