Wedding cake

Last year I was asked to make a wedding cake for one of my best friends. I was very grateful to be asked and although I was looking forward to making my first wedding cake I was very nervous as I wanted to get it right! I spent many an hour practising the piping work to go around the sides as it was not something that I have ever had cause to do/learn before.

I also spent time practising and then making the final roses to go on the cake. I enjoyed making the roses even though they took time and patience. My friend Claire had chosen to have Sweet Avalanche roses in her bouquet and although I may not have got them to look the like Avalanche roses exactly they were at least the same pale shade of pink.

The ribbon around the cake matched the ribbon used on the invitations and also on the favour boxes. That along with the beautiful colours of the Hydrangeas in the flower displays helped to tie everything together nicely.

The top and bottom tiers were fruit cakes and the middle was a sponge cake - meaning I had to ensure I dowelled the cake correctly to avoid squashing the sponge! It was helpful being able to make/marzipan/ice the fruit cakes in advance.

Two days before the wedding I stacked the cakes, placed the ribbon around the sides and then piped them. The piping alone took over 3 hours - which may have been down to me being a novice with perfectionist tendencies.

On the day of the wedding I took the cake across to Buxton (whilst ensuring my Husband drove slowly around every country corner) and when in place on the table I then added the roses which had been carried in a tin surrounded by kitchen towels. I also 'touched up' any piping I wasn't happy with.

I was pleased with the final cake. It took a lot of work and effort but it was definitely worth it.

Seventieth birthday cake

I got the idea for this cake from a friend - Sarah Gold at www.mykindofcupcake.co.uk the design is simple but it creates an effective yet classy cake. The most difficult bit was cutting out all of the letters! The ones in white spell out Happy Birthday and clearly have a 'random' layout on the cake. Except for the ones on the front which you can see do spell out Happy Birthday.

The design of the letters has an impact on the feel of the cake - which could help to personalise it. For example, 'Groovy' lettering would give it a more retro '70's feel.

Silverstone cake

I was asked to make a cake with the Silverstone track on top. I decided to add the chequered effect around the side to help create the Formula 1 theme. The track was made from rolled out black icing and again I used white/black icing to make the squares. I was well practised at this as the cake I made last week also had a chequered pattern. The little chequered patch marking the start of the track was made from sugar paste and I drew the squares using my edible black pen.

Vans cake

I was asked to make a cake with the Vans logo and chequer board pattern, as well as a pair of 'Gok Wan' style glasses and a laptop. The real challenge in this cake as you can imagine was creating both the glasses and the laptop. For these I used black sugar paste. I drew a template of the glasses and used this to cut out the shape. I then left it to set by hanging it over an object the same width as the front of the glasses. The laptop had to be left to set in the 'open' position before sticking on my screen and keyboard!

This was a fun cake to make and I think the chequer board is effective and actually a technique that I will be using in next weeks cake.....so watch this space!

Sewing machine cake

I was asked to make a vintage sewing machine cake with the colour theme of black, gold and red. In order to personalise it the name Jeanette was written in place of Singer and DLW was placed in the dial where S would normally be. I had fun making all the little details for this cake; the buttons painted with glittery gold and red (all edible), the gold sparkly letters, dial and writing and the cotton reel on the top with a strawberry lace as thread. The needle was made from a cocktail stick dipped in edible silver paint.

This cake was very difficult to ice due to it's shape around the cut-out section. It had to be done in 2 stages and was then very awkward to smooth on the inside. I feel that the gold really stands out against the black but the downside of using gold glitter is that once it touches icing it is very difficult to wipe off! So care had to be taken to ensure that things are placed in the right location first time round - which wasn't always the case unfortunately.

The cake was cut from a 12" square and ended up about 10" x 12" in size. It was a vanilla sponge with vanilla buttercream and jam....yummy!

Princess Peppa Pig

This cake was more involved than the other two Peppa Pig cakes due to the crown and the wings. The cake started off as a 12" square and I was able to cut it to obtain all the sections you can see here. In future I would use a 16" square board instead of the 14" I used, in order to give myself a bit more space for laying out the cake.

I have used the 'official' picture of Princess Peppa as my template but varied it by changing the background to a pale blue in order to allow the pink to stand out more. I was also requested to make it glittery and so as you can see there is a lot of shine/sparkle to this cake. The sponge is lemon with a lemon buttercream.

Buttons

I bought a new button mould from Squires Kitchen and have been desperate to use it! Fortunately I didn't have to wait long as it was someone at works birthday (not that she wanted to admit it). I liked the colours that much on the hen-do cake I made (Cath Kidston style) that I decided to use them again. The buttons are made using petal paste and dusted with edible lustre. The 'threads' were piped with royal icing.

This was a simple cake to make and I really love the buttons. I have seen some designs on the internet where ivory buttons have decorated a wedding cake iced in ivory. It is a really nice design with a vintage feel to it.

Here is the cake I made for the yellow ribbon day at our local hospice. I donated it for their raffle. It is exactly the same as the last cake I made - with the exception of it being yellow!

Cath Kidston inspired Cake

This cake was made for the weekend of my friends hen-do. It is inspired by Cath Kidston and the colours match her theme for the wedding. I enjoyed making this cake as it took a lot of effort and different skills to make. The roses were created from royal icing and were piped onto a cocktail stick. I found this difficult to do but think I got the hang of it in the end! The white 'ribbons' on the top of the cake and on the bottom were made from flower paste and were decorated with edible pearl white lustre. I was really happy with the outcome of this cake - so much so that I am going to create a white and yellow version for the local hospice 'yellow ribbon day'.....so watch this space!