In the Spirit of Halloween

I don't have any cake orders this week, so I decide to work on my own project....a skull cake!

On Tuesday night I made (4) 8" and (1) 6"Red Velvet cakes. I frozen them to continue work on Wednesday night. So, last night, I pulled them out of the freezer and iced between the layers with plain butter cream dyed red. I put them back in the freezer for about half an hour and then started shaping.

I've never "free-hand" shaped before so I just stood looking at my stack of cakes for about 10 minutes. I finally just dug in. In all, it took me about an hour to shape it and ice the entire cake.

As you can see from the pic, I used a little skull decoration for help. Ultimately, I think my skull cake looks like an Ape skull, rather then a human skull. Hopefully once I put the fondant and coloring on, it will start looking more like a human skull.

I don't think it is too bad, though, for my first time....and for having to artistic talent! =)

Lauren's Birthday Cake

I wish I had a better picture of this. I kept getting a shadow!

Lauren is the daughter of one of my co-workers, Renee'. Renee' asked for a very simple vanilla/vanilla cake. Lauren is a varsity cheerleader so I added a fondant megaphone.

Breanna's Sweet Sixteen Cake

Wow my first Topsy Turvy cake.....finally have one under my belt. As you can see from the picture, it is not quite as Topsy Turvy as the one from Pink Cake Box. The pick is at a bad angle too, so it almost looks like just an unlevel cake! I still intend to angle the cakes a lot more.

I think it turned out okay. I was not totally satisfied with the finished look, but I keep having to remind myself that this was my first of the kind. Stephen's Mom and Step-Dad where in town the night before delivery, so they got to see the transition. They seemed to like it. They were on there way to a wedding and when Linda called after the wedding, she mentioned that my cake looked better then the brides wedding cake. I'll take that compliment any day.

So, the cake itself turned out fine. The delivery was another story. I did not have it anchored down well enough, so when Stephen and I set off to deliver, the cake started shifting. We met Breanna and her Mother, Janey, and the plan was for them to drive it the rest of the way home. I just knew the cake wasn't going to make it once I put it in Janey's lap. On our way home, I started to cry and didn't stop for about an hour. I was so upset, because I thought I'd ruined her party (yes I am emotional) and because I was soooo tired. Turns out, the cake made it in relatively good shape and everything was fine. I just stressed myself out because I wanted it to be perfect.

German Chocolate Cake

If I had to pick a Phrase for the Day in would be Over Commitment! I tend to take on more then I can handle. A friend asked if I could made him a German Chocolate Cake for Friday (this past Friday). Without blinking, I said yes. Ordinarily, this cake would not be a problem, however, because I procrastinated on the Topsy Turvy Sweet Sixteen cake, I was in panic mode.

Despite my desire to make my life chaotic, I think I did a really good job on this cake. German Chocolate is an easy cake for me to make. The hardest part of this cake was trying to write the message on it! Go figure ~

Word for the Day: Procrastination

That should actually be my moto. I was planning on blogging about this Word for the Day, yesterday....but I procrastinated! =) So, I'venot had a lot of cake stuff going on, so I took a "work/blog" break. Actually, I made another Grande cake the week after Amy's cake, but I was just so burnt out that I didn't do anything else. I was sick, had lots of Grande work, and started working out again...ugg!

On my plate this week is a Sweet Sixteen cake for a co-workers daughter. It will be my "real" first Topsy Turvy cake, since Amy's cake didn't quite happen that way! Anyway, I'd planned to start this cake Sunday night. This Sweetsixteen cake is a 3 tier Topsy Turvy covered in Fondant.....and has lots of detail. I intended to start cutting out all the fondant details Sunday, so that all I had to worry about Thursday night was baking, cooling, and crumb coating the cakes. On Friday I hoped to only have to roll out the fondant base and apply the details.

So, last night (TUESDAY), I started, but only managed to make one color fondant....I need three. I have not even started cutting my details. Typical Cyndi! I swear I work better under pressure.

BTW....I attached apic of the cake I'll be making. It is a simi-replica of a Pink Cake Box cake. That bake shope is amazing. Brianna - the Sweet Sixteen, asked her mom for this cake. We are modifing it a bit to fit their budget. I'll make sure to post my end result, too.

Amy's Birthday Cake

Well, I finally had a chance to post Amy's cake. I wish the picture wasn't blurry. I think the cake turned out okay for my first fondant cake. I definetly have mistakes.....all over it, like creases in the fondant, not so straight lines, and apparently I didn't use enough gum text in my fondant misture. By the time we got back from dinner, the bow fell. I was fairly proud of myself, though.

Let me know what you think!

Oh.....You want this delivered?

Yeah...... so I guess I hadn't really thought about delivering my cakes. This is almost the finished product of Amy's... supposed to be Topsy Turvy cake. Of course, I was totally frazzled on our way to Amy's house... in SOUTH AUSTIN.

If you know me..... (my sisiter will get this reference) then you know that I plan, plan, plan, but forget to plan enough time to actually do! So, I managed to plan enough time to finish the cake, but I was late getting ready, packing up Amy's birthday present, etc., etc.., hense frazzled.

Stephen is in the front seat driving, while I am in the back seat holding onto the cake for dear life. It was fine once we got on the Highway, but driving thru San Marcos, over speed bumps, railroad tracks, etc.... was about to give me a nervous breakdown!

I wish I'd taken a picture before we left the house, and of the entire transition/ transportation of the cake. I actually assembled the bow while we where driving to Austin. When I took this picture, I'd just finished gluing the last ribbon on. It was at that point that I realized how funny this whole ordeal was and that I really needed a picture. The tissue is even still in the fondant ribbon to help hold their shape!

Luau Cake

I was so excited to make this cake. This is/was my first cake order since officially "opening" BB Bake Shoppe....well, other then Grande cakes.

My co-worker, Lisa, requested a "girly" birthday cake for her daughter Tristyn. They threw her a Luau themed party, on September 27, complete with a water slide.

I had so much fun making this cake. This is the first time I've ever used fondant... not much ... figured I'd better start small .... and air brushing. My husband and I decided I need to work on proportions, though. The lips flops are almost the same size as the entire hula outfit!

Hey ~ as my Mother would say (namely about me) maybe she has big "sapo" (toad) feet!

Playing Catch-up

I am a little behind on posting, because my cable modem stopped working just after I started the blog. The repair man came today to give me a new modem. It was so frustrating having to wait that long....especially since my husband knew what the problem was, last week. Today was just the soonest that I could get on the cable companies service list. Boy I wish I could get Grande in my neighborhood!

Back to playing catch-up!

Grande Cakes

I work for Grande Communications - Network Services department. For the past two-three years I've been making cakes for my Departments' birthdays, for a very small fee, and most recently, I started making cakes for a few of the other departments. The Operations Department ordered two cakes for their September birthday's; a German Chocolate and a Strawberry Cheesecake.

This was the first time I wasn't completly horrified by the look of my German Chocolate Cake....specifically, the icing. I realized that I wasn't letting my icing cool long enough before I started applying it to the cake. I normally end up with icing dripping down the sides because it hasn't hardened. The funny thing is, it didn't matter with this particular cake. Since I'd seen a lot of people use buttercream icing around the entire cake and only apply the German Chocolate glase to the top....I did it this time. Oh, well....maybe I'll try icing the entire cake next time. BTW: I'm told my cake and icing are very good. I never eat it...I hate coconut and nuts!

As far as the Cheesecake goes, I used my old reliable recipe, but made a thicker graham cracker crust. Totally loved how it looked. I think I need to try out a new pan though. Can you see the ridge mine is leaving?

Fondant Fear!

Wow! I was so afraid of using fondant that I've been having mini anxiety attacks, all week. While watching the VP debate, last night, I finally started coloring and rolling my fondant to cover the tiers of Amy's cake. What was I so afraid of? My sisiter told me it was like playing with PlayDoh, and she was right. It kinda taste like it too! =)

I bought the ready made Wilton fondant on the recommendation of a Wilton.com chat room entry. The writer suggested doing a trial run with the pre-made stuff so I could get use to the texture and practice rolling and cutting it. I am making a Hallowwen cake for one of my friends sisters'. I've already asked her if she minds being my giunea pig on Mashmellow Fondant. I hear that is actually edible.

From now on, I will not Fear Fondant! Maybe Gum Paste....but not Fondant!

To be or Not to be "Topsy Turvy"

For any female that just recently got married, is getting married, or has been to a wedding, sweet sixteen party, etc...., you may have seen the latest craze in cakes....the Whimsical or "Topsy Turvy" cake. I absolutly love these cakes, and am scheduled to make one, at the end of the month, for a sweet sixteen, so I thought I'd practice on one this week.

Saturday, we are celebrating Amys' (one of my best friends) birthday. This is a perfect opportunity for me to make this cake, right? I thought so too. So last night I baked the cakes - a two tier triple chocoalte cake.

Well, I am glad I went thru this trial run. I already screwed up. I didn't realize until after I crumb coated the cake with buttercream icing that I was supposed to shape the cake BEFORE I crumb coated it! I guess I am not making a Topsy Turvy cake this weekend afterall....haha! Oh well, I can still use it as a trial run on all the fondant decorations.

FYI: This is what happens when you start watching a scary, borderline "B" movie with your husband while baking at 11:00 at night...on a work night. I rarely sleep!

UFC Cake: Not my best work but edible!

So the Saturday after my husbands birthday, September 6th, we gathered at a friends house, like we always do for all UFC events. Since I'd just learned about a technique, I really wanted to try it out. I read that you can use rice paper to create a stencil, and since it is a natural fiber, it is edible. So, since it was a UFC night, and since we were meeting at James' house and he is UFC obsessed, I decide to make a UFC cake.

Now, I know what you are thinking....You could have done this free hand. True, but I didn't have time to get "all creative", so I picked a simple design. First off, I didn't take the time to trim and level my cake, so the cake is a little off shape. Second, I did not do a great job icing the cake, so the edges are not smooth and sharp. Finally, the rice paper didn't desolve into the cake.....like it was supposed to. When I re-read the site that I learned this from, I figured out that it takes like a day for it to disolve...haha....I only gave it like two hours!

Oh well, the chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream icing tasted great. I remember, though, when we were "digging" into it, my husband asking why I wasn't eating any......I was too busy shoveling down chips, queso, and salsa!

Stephen's Birthday 2008

I am a month behind on this post, since my husbands birthday was on September 1st. Oh well, Better late then never. We had a back yard BBQ on Saturday August 30th, for his birthday with all our friends, so I wanted to make his favorite cakes. Yes....two....he's spoiled. Stephen loves cheesecake and whenever we go out to eat, he generally orders rich chocolate cake...if they don't have cheesecake. Anyway, I digress....

So, for his birthday I made both. I made a New York Style Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and fresh strawberries pureed of top. I make it often, because this is my fathers favorite too. I tried a new recipe for the chocolate cake, with some modifications. I think this is my favorite chocolate cake yet. It is very decadent but not overly sweet. I icing and filled the cake with chocolate buttercream and then glased the top with semi-sweet chocolate. Finally, I topped the cake with some chocolate covered strawberries.

I laughed hysterically when I found out that several of my friends thought the cakes were fake. Apparently, cheesecake is all my friends favorite too, because almost all of that was eaten. I did have a few takers on the chocolate cake...even Tori, my neighbor, who apparently doesn't usually like chocolate cake.