BIG Birthday Cakes

Just last spring I had a request for a sheet cake. It was my first attempt, and I think it went well. There were a few snags and some moments of sheer panic, but where would we be without that, right? I learned some things and was excited to try again. My friend provided me with two more opportunities. Her mother's birthday cake and her grandmother. The first was in April, hence the springy pastel colors. The second was last weekend, so I chose some fall/winter colors. I experimented a bit with the design on the most recent cake and I really had fun.





My first sheet cake. Not bad for a first try. I used Grandma Mary's chocolate cake recipe. If you look close you can see some crumbs in the icing. Grrr.

The second attempt.... I think this was Grandma's chocolate with German Chocolate Filling... I should write these things down somewhere where I'll be able to find it again!

I learned not to level the cake. It is huge, but it works the best! No crumbs, no uneveness. Just a nice, smooth, HUGE, cake! Can you tell the difference in height? It was much more drastic in real life, believe me!This actually went pretty quickly, considering all the lacework. This cake was white cake. The filling was good old frosting.

(Wilton says these cakes feed 108)

Requested Recipe

I have heard back from a few people wanting to try out the fondant recipe. I hope you like it as much as my kiddos do.

Marshmallow Fondant:
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 T. water
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c pwd. sugar

Place marshmallows in cup measure and pack them in. (I usually double this and just use one 16 oz package, or I'll eyeball it and just dump half the package in.) Place in microwave safe bowl and add the water. Microwave about 20 seconds until they "puff up." I always have to do more, but go slowly. Stir in with a spoon until it's all "soupy." Add the powdered sugar. I usually use four cups or 1 lb. of sugar. Knead it with the spoon until it's all mixed well. Then you can knead it on a lightly greased (with Crisco) surface.

I love this recipe because I can color it without coloring my hands. You just add the color when it is at the "soupy" stage. Also, you can add flavoring. I find that it tastes best to add it during the "soupy" stage so you aren't nuking the flavoring. Keep this covered in an air-tight container so it doesn't dry out. If it's too hard to work with, I stick it in the microwave for a few seconds, like ten or so, and it softens right up, like playdough!

You can also make chocolate or white chocolate fondant. I have yet to try the white chocolate:
for Chocolate:
add 1 oz. melted chocolate
1 t. cocoa powder to basic recipe

White Chocolate:
add 1 oz. (maybe 1 1/4 oz.) good quality white chocolate, melted to basic recipe.

Try it out. Tell me what you think.

Tricks of my Trade

Here are a few things I do a little differently than most. Thanks to those who taught me!


Fondant: Most people avoid fondant for two reasons. The taste and the cost. Personally I just am not a fan of the texture, but my kids love it. This is the first cake I made with fondant. Although it is super cute, it tasted HORRID! I used the Wilton ready to roll junk. It was pricey and stinky and YUCKY!!!



Thankfully, someone in my class passed on a delicious homemade recipie. It cuts the cost and it tastes great! My friends says it reminds her of those circus peanut candies. The chocolate tastes like a tootsie roll according to another friend. So here are some cakes I've made with my own fondant.








Fake cake: I know a lot of people will make cakes from styrofoam or other materials to cut costs, mostly on wedding cakes. Well, this drives me nuts! I dealt with this when looking for my own wedding cake. The thing is, it doesn't save that much money and you can't eat it. At the same time, a lot of people don't eat or serve the cake so that is fine. My solution was taught to me by a friend. Use rice krispy treats. They taste great, kids love them, they are super easy to work with, and they are so inexpensive to make!!! Here are a couple cakes made in part or whole from rice krispies.This entire "cake" is rice krispie because the family doesn't like cake.





Again, the dress is made from rice krispies.

Wedding Cakes

Since Wedding season for college students is upon us... here are some pictures of wedding cakes I have done. I have some others... but I took them on different cameras and now I can't find the pictures. I'll keep looking. I must admit, I love to look at the pictures, because it's harder to see the imperfections I notice while I'm making it! Although they cause me the most stress, I love to make them and see the finished product at the reception.This cake was difficult to get the look just right. I made it the day after Thanksgiving in someone else's kitchen after a three hour drive. But, it was one of the tastiest cakes! The bottom two layer are white cake with raspberry filling. There is a chocolate rasberry ganache poured over the cakes and the fondant is raspberry flavored. The brown is chocolate fondant that tastes like tootsie rolls.This cake was a team effort. The bride is my new sister-in-law and her sister, Kaylin and I worked on this together. I baked the cakes and frosted them, she did the fancy curliques and we added finishing details together. This one was also a yummy one. The bottom is again, white with raspberry. the middle is Grandma Mary's famous chocolate cake.This cake was actually for the bridal shower for my sister-in-law. The doll's hair is a little crazy, but the cake was fun and pretty quick considering. Its white cake with fondant. The doll's dress is actually made from rice krispies.

Test Run

This is something I have wanted to do for a while. I have made some fun, cute cakes over the past few years. It is something I love doing and I hope people love the cakes I've made for them. I wanted to have a place where I could post pictures of my work and get some feedback on what other people think. I am hoping this might help to boost my confidence. I dream of having a business someday... if my wrists can hold up! We'll see how this goes.