Happy Birthday Aunt Caroyln!

Car came to visit for a few days, so I did a rush job and made her an impromptu early birthday cake!

Cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. Pretty cake, for a pretty aunt!

I'd post a better pic, but Mom hasn't sent them. Sad. This cake is out of chronological order slightly, but that's okay. This was the first all buttercream cake I had done in awhile. And the first time I ever went for the square cake.

If I only had more time and space!!

Happy Birthday Maile

Just wanted to make Maile a pretty birthday cake! She deserves something girly and fun this year.

I really need to practice with the buttercream, so I'm forcing myself to make buttercream cakes and practice things that I'm not so confident at yet...practice makes perfect.

I'm pretty happy with this cake!

Happy Birthday Maile!

Sand Cake

Lil sis and I went to the beach.

Sand castle?

No tools.

Sand cake?

Yeah, boy.

Happy Father's Day

Lil' sis and I worked on this one together. What do we do for Dad's cake?
Golf? Whatta a snooze-fest.

Dad... Dad... When we think of Dad? What comes to mind? Besides the Godfather and the chicken dance?

Sis suggests that crazy song Dad always sings-- the one I had always thought he made up, but then I heard it on NPR last month and called him at 7 a.m. to say "DAD!! I heard your crazy song on the radio!" Turns out it really was some crazy exercise song from the 50s or something.

Push-ups, every morning
ten times, not just now and then
give that chicken fat back to the chicken
and don't be a chicken again...
nooooo...
don't be a chicken again.

I've heard this a million times between 4 years old and 27 years old-- so what better way to honor my dad with a cake interpretation of this silly little tune?

This was pure fun -- and the second we revealed the cake, he got it!
[picture coming soon]

Drained doctor leaves patients for pastries

Nothing new-- just another story about people checking out and doing something crazy. This one was sent by a friend who hears me joke about my future pastry shop all of the time.

I always like to read stories like this. No matter how played out. I like stories about people going out and doing stuff without boundary, if you will. This one was close to home since Alex and I always joke about doing culinary school together! We'd kill each other I'm sure.

I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out what my next "work" step in life will be. More PR? More Marketing? More Arts & Culture? Or is it time to do something crazy. I'm not that old, am I really justified in "checking out" already?

Hmmm....

Read "Drained doctor leaves patients for pastries" on CNN Living

She likes Disney

A co-worker approached me and asked me to make a cake for another co-workers going away party. "Sure!" she says enthusiastically, "what do you want it to look like?" "She likes Disney, like Ratatouille and stuff" he says. 20 hours or so later....

Hippie Happy

This was so exciting. I'm not one for starting small... I say it often... if you're gonna go, go big. So we convinced cake teacher that it was time to do a tiered cake. So, here's my first tiered cake!

Draping and Flower Power

Hmmm...no holiday to work around. So, i thought I'd go for just pretty. Tried some things I'd never tried-- draping, marbling fondant. Not too bad, right?!

Happy Valentine's Day

Another class project. The roses were candy clay. I was pretty content with this one!

Happy Valentine Cake
(cake circa February 2008)

Self-Destructing Cake

As you can see, this cake began to self-destruct pretty early in its life. Lesson learned: Careful how much icing you put in between layers. A combination of heat, humidity, and a quick stop at a stop sign created some sliding and some cracking.

Nonetheless-- huge improvement in piping flowers! Looking back to Happy Cake original, I can kinda see it -- too bad, they all started to melt!

Christmas to Superbowl

Okay, so along the way there has been other sugar fun-- cookies, cupcakes, gingerbread houses.

Some of the xmas cookies I made this year--each stocking had a family member's name painted on it... how cheesey, right?

And then there were the Giants vs. Patriots Superbowl cupcakes. Fun, right?

Happy 19th Birthday Cake

My sister was turning 19. Time for a fun cake. I sketched it out, and made it happen. I was working on this cake, when my boyfriend Alex came over, and said "wow!" -- I asked if he had been skeptical when I showed him the sketch, and he admitted maybe a little, but proceeded to gush about how impressed he was...that made me very happy!

The best part, was my sister walked out of her room when we arrived in a black and white striped shirt--totally not planned, the cake was a surprise! Right then, I knew the cake was perfect for her.

Happy 19th Birthday Cake!

(January 2008)

Fondant Virgin

Fondant. I thought that's what "fancy" decorators used. Well, they do, but I had no idea how much harder working with buttercream was... Real cake mastery lies in perfecting the peskiness of soft icing...I found out though, I like working with fondant. It's finicky and doesn't taste great, but I had fun with my first-ever experience. And making the ribbon out of gumpaste was a good trick to learn. I was happy with this cake, and it was the first time I got real ooos and ahhhhs out of family and friends. Maybe I was catching on!?

If you don't exercise your creative muscle you lose it... just like real muscle. I know I work in Marketing and Public Relations, and have for years, and that sounds creative... but it's an oddly limiting kind of creative. My new hobby is about color and concept and making something come to life that you sketch on paper. It's kind of fun...

(cake circa November 2007)

Happy First Fondant Cake.

Boo! The Second Cake

This was my first attempt at basket weave and at modeling anything-- the witch, kitty cat, etc are made of marzipan (almond paste/candy, popular in Europe). Also the first time I realized that my new hobby was 1) kind of stressful 2) kind of messy 3) kind of expensive 4) kind of rewarding -- it's always fun to feel like you've accomplished something, especially something new. I hadn't taken up a new hobby in a long time. This is when I realized it was good that I was actually DOING something for myself, and not just TALKING about doing it.

I also gave up on Cell Phone Pictures after this cake.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(cake circa October 2007)

Happy Cake!

Everyone else is doing it-- I've taken up cake decorating and I'm growing very fond of the hobby. I wish I had more time and didn't feel like I was always cramming it in... but until I get good enough to make it a full time job, I needed a place to chronicle my path to master of sugar art. I like to be creative. I like to eat. It's creative food! What could be better? Welcome to the land of happy cakery!

This was my very first cake-- yikes, but a
HAPPY CAKE!
(cake circa September 2007)