Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Free Recipes and a NEW Free Mini Class on Craftsy!

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Craftsy now offers a variety of free patterns and recipes!!  Take a look at the list they're offering:
A lot of these recipes are fairly basic... but who doesn't love a new cake recipe to experiment with?!  I am excited to see Nicholas Lodge's Gumpaste Recipe among those offered. I have never tried making it, but have hear wonderful things about his recipe!

The best part is, these recipes are free to members... and it's free to sign up!

I also wanted to let everyone know about a new free mini-class that should be launching tomorrow!  "Basic Fondant Techniques" with Elisa Strauss should be live tomorrow June 19th!  UPDATE 6.19.13: The class is now live!  Click the link to check it out :)

Happy Caking :)



DISCLAIMER: While all opinions are my own this post contains affiliate links for Craftsy.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Cascading Flower Cake!

It was only a matter of time before I was asked to create my vision of this beautiful cake!  It is a pretty popular design, so I'm not sure of the original designer... but the picture the bride sent and my take are inspired by one of the beautiful creations by Sweet and Saucy Shop!
As a creative person, I generally prefer to come up with my own original designs... but I've secretly been dying to have a go at this cake design!
I love the simply look of it, the only embellishment is the giant flower. 


This cake can only look best with an extra tall cake... so I made my 10" and 8" rounds 6 inches tall!  The top tier is a 6" round, my standard 4 inches tall.
 I love the delicate, slightly ruffled petals that cascade down the front of the cake, and although Sweet and Saucy Shop has a really beautiful version in blue, right now I am loving white on white designs for weddings!
This cake was delivered, once again, to the picturesque Eolia Mansion at Harkness State Park in Waterford, CT.... I'm beginning to think I'll be moving in!  The grounds and the mansion are absolutely gorgeous and I love seeing this location as a backdrop for my cakes.... and the beautiful weddings that take place there!!!


Happy Caking :)

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

White Satin, Pink Peony Cake!

Okay, I'm not the most creative when it comes to naming my cakes, lol!  This cake I'm calling "White Satin, Pink Peony Cake" is my latest creation that I delivered to the beautiful Eolia Mansion in Waterford, CT last weekend!
For this event I was working with event planner, Meena Lee of 5th Avenue Weddings & Events!  She created a beautiful "Sweet Love" table featuring my cakes.  Everything looked amazing.... it was further styled after I had taken my photos.  I got a sneak peak from Meena... and cannot wait to see the professional photos from this beautiful event!
I am so excited that I got to make this cake!  I really love the beautiful satin finish I've seen on cakes, like all of the jaw dropping gorgeous creations from Faye Cahill Cake Design!  I started "pinning" from her photo gallery, but had to stop because I was picking them all!  So, I was super excited when my bride loved my suggestion that we use the technique on her cake.  My cakes are not nearly as beautiful as Faye's but I still love how the finish turned out!
My bride had requested a "simple" and "elegant" cake... she wanted some "texture" on it, but not overly decorated.  That where I figured the satin finish would be a beautiful embellishment.  I left the details matte white for a contrast in texture. 
The bottom tear features the sweet and beautiful "double wedding rings" pattern.  
And the middle tier has a simple Swiss dot pattern.  
 The top tier and two single satellite tiers were left plain, with just the satin finish.
On each of the cakes I added pale pink peonies as accents.
The top of each cake had a larger open peony.  I tried to model them after Jaqueline Butler's beautiful signature flowers.  Having never had the opportunity to learn peony technique from the master herself, I hope I did justice to her style!  (You can take her Handcrafted Sugar Flowers class on Craftsy to learn Jacqueline's technique for hydrangea and filler flowers!)

I didn't want to distract from the delicate, pale color palette.  So instead of making the foliage green, I left them matte white gumpaste so they looked a lot like porcelain.  I love the effect, just a subtle detail on the overall design!
For the middle of the tiered cake, I added s smaller closed peony... I think it was perfect to bring a little more interest to the cake.  The beauty of it, it is draws your eye to the subtle detail of the patterns.

Thank you for indulging me, by looking at all of the pictures I've posted!  I had so much trouble picking my favorites!  But I am so delighted with the final product.  Hopefully they are cakes suited for the beautiful wedding, of a stunning bride at this gorgeous location!!

Happy Caking :)