Yo Gabba WhAt???

When I was asked to make a cake based on a Yo Gabba Gabba theme I was originally thinking warrior position. Then I found out it was a kids TV show and not anything having to do with yoga :) This was such a fun cake to make.  The characters were funky yet simple enough for a novice like me to recreate.  I'm still a bit sad I wasn't able to put more detail on the base.  I originally had planned for a lot more but ran out of time and fondant.  It might have been for the best though since the characters were a bit larger than I had intended them to be and were definitely a little overpowering. I made the cake a simple vanilla with vanilla buttercream filling and layered with strawberries. The main difficulties I ran into was keeping the characters standing up as well as having too many air bubbles in the fondant.  Just a few more things to add to my long list of what to work on.  Maybe sometime soon I can start crossing a few off....

26 Birthday Wishes

So I don't need any birthday wishes this year because for my b-day I received the bestest best gift ever... a Cake Cricut!!! I'm in heaven. Seriously in heaven. It took me some time to work out the kinks but I have it fixed now.  I used my new cricut to make the swirls on the 3rd tier of my b-day cake.  Yes, I'm fully aware you are not supposed to make your own b-day cake but I just couldn't resist an excuse to practice :)
I figured since it was a cake to celebrate me, it needed to be the biggest badest thing you've ever seen.  It was big and bad alright but I'm still recovering from it.  Not only am I stuffed from eating, I ache all over and could probably sleep for a few days.  I spent so much time and energy on this thing it might take some time for me to recoup and work up the thought of making another cake anytime soon.  Ha! Just kidding. I'm rooaarring to go again.
After all of my hard work and time invested, I was so excited to finish the cake only to literally flip out that it was leaning.  Sorry to my sister Hanna for being such a bloomin' witch. Note for future, do not come into the kitchen and ask me why the cake is leaning and not expect the reaction of a lifetime.  I believe my Tower of Pisa is leaning because when I was putting the fondant on, the kitchen was ridiculously hot, and so the cake started sweating.  The fondant wouldn't stick and the cake started shifting.  I was able to save the cakes but the third tier wasn't level so it gives the appearance the top tier is going to slide right off.  Even the miniature me looks unsure of the situation.
I tried some new combos for the cake which were absolutely delicious. I made a peanut butter ganache that I put in a chocolate cake, a lemon with lemon glaze and a chocolate with caramel.  Overall, it was a great birthday and I'm very pleased with my creation. It was sad taking it down but I better get used to that part. That is what pictures and oh so cool blogs are for. ;)

1st attempt (left) & 2nd attempt (right): Working in the food color to the modeling chocolate first works much better than trying to paint it on after.  Mini Adie #2 is so much cuter and more life like.

The M Challenge

What do you do when you have exactly 3 hours to make something for a potluck for the next day? Easy, make a cake.  While the M cake may not win any contest, I'm pretty sure I scored points in the "worked well under pressure" category along with "being able to use whatever was in the pantry".  Time was the hardest factor not to have on my side.  Not only was I tired and ready for bed, I had to try to speed up the cooling down process as well as the chill time after crumb coating the cake.  I usually let the cake cool for about a half an hour and then at least an hour in the fridge after. I bumped up that time by letting the cake cool after stacking it, but I didn't do a crumb coat.  A combed icing job finished the cake which I feel made the cake look sloppy but there wasn't a lot I could do about it.  It was a nice feeling going to bed with the cake complete and not toppling over. There was some leftover cake that was brought home.  I was completely shocked when my husband had a piece and pulled out a little butter wrapper.  I was sooooo embarrassed and now can only imagine how many other people took a bite into little bits of wrappers.  I guess there is a price to pay for rushing. 

80 Years Older & Wiser

Two weeks ago I decided to try to make a square tiered cake.  In the middle tier I put fresh peaches in the batter and then created a cinnamon & brown sugar buttercream.  For the bottom tier I made a spice cake with the same cinnamon buttercream.  I made a chocolate with ganache cake for the top tier.  The design is very simple but funky since I put a shorter round tier in the middle and then stacked the tiers offset to give a stair like look.  I used royal icing to do the piping work on the second tier.  For the banner I just used leftover fondant and folded in the sides to give it a draped effect.  I really wish my letters would have  turned out nicer.  My icing wasn't a great consistency which made it difficult to use.  I wasn't aware that my neighbor Bill was celebrating his 80th with all his family until after the cake was completed.  I put the banner on it and figured it would make a great celebration cake.  You have to have an awesome cake when you turn 80. Period. I hope it turned out ok. I have started giving away my practice cakes to ensure that I do not become obese.  The one downside is that I always worry. I guess with time I will get over it and realize that all of my cakes taste like heaven. Yeah right ;) Bill and his family seemed to really like this one which made me feel wonderful. 

Flowers & Fireworks

I have officially joined TEAM BUTTERCREAM. 

So far I have only used it for fillings and crumb coats but after using it to finish my rose cake I'm convinced there might not be anything better.  Don't get me wrong, fondant makes extremely clean, amazing cakes but buttercream is so much easier to make and use.  It is a bit nerve racking trying to get the final layer smooth to perfection but it sure does beat sifting pounds of sugar and kneading. Not to mention the horrific

mess I make using it.  It seems like every time I make fondant I end up cleaning up the remains of a sugar

and cornstarch explosion.  Buttercream is simple and forgiving.  I haven't mastered the art of the buttercream rose yet, but for my first try not bad eh. This was a taller cake using chocolate and yellow with a simple vanilla buttercream. 

When the 4th of July rolled around it meant only one thing- bring on the fireworks cake.  I wanted to attempt creating horizontal pleats or ruffles (not sure what to call them). My attempt worked fine but I feel I should have thought about the design a bit better.  I created modeling chocolate for all of the attached shapes and fireworks.  The chocolate is fun to work with but does not stay stiff.  Fondant or gum paste would have been better for me to use.  My mom thought the fireworks looked like the shrimp cocktail fingers from the movie Beetlejuice. Not was I was going for AT ALL! Now that I look at it though, I have to agree with her. Six foot, seven foot, eight foot Bunch! Haha.  I also think the pleats make the cake look like Snoopy's house. Oh well, the shapes turned out cute and patriotic.  Next year I will tackle the flag. Can't wait!

Fat Guy in a Little Coat

Hanna (my sister): "Faaat guy in a liiittle sweater"
Me: It's not sweater, it's jacket.
Hanna: No, it's sweater.
Me: Noooo, jacket.

A few days later....
Me: Hey Dustin (my hubby), how does that song go from Tommy Boy? It's "Fat guy in a little jacket" right?
Dustin: No, it's coat.
Me: No way, jacket.
Dustin: Betch ya monster cookies it's coat.
Me: Done
Hanna: "Faaat guy in a liiiittle COAT!"

At least the story finished with a scrumptious ending :)

Cuppy-Cake $

The cupcake of all cupcakes! I love this cake. I know I still have much more to learn but I do feel like I am somewhat getting the hang of this. Watch, my next one will be a disaster just for saying that. The following pics show you what I created and the inspiration. This was my first attempt at making a topsy turvy cake as well as sculpting the cupcake. I definitely did not sculpt it nearly as perfect and cute as the pinkcakebox one. Mine is a little more...uh, realistic? I guess that's a good word to describe it. This was also my first at making a fondant bow. I used some pearlescent edible dust to give the luster on the bow and bottom two tiers. I embossed the purple fondant to give it a more textured look as well. I decided to be lazy and use a box cake mix. The mix was fine to use and gave me more time to work on decorating.  I was worried it would not be sturdy enough but it did the trick and held.  I created a strawberry swirl using a strawberry mix and yellow mix for the top two tiers and then made a chocolate with peppermint buttercream for the bottom tier.  I added chopped peppermint patties to the chocolate to give it a minty so fresh and so clean kick. YuMmY!