Horsing Around with Twins

This week, like an idiot, I agreed to make 3 cakes.  I had a decent amount of notice on all of them, so thankfully I was able to make a start on the decorations, particularly the models of the people.  The Horse cake, for a friend's niece's 8th Birthday was put together using Patchwork Cutters which are really useful and I was able to make the bits and pieces in advance.  Painting and dusting the dried cut outs was all a bit last minute though and so John had to help with that part.  I was happy with the overall look of the cake and my "client" was happy too (as was Morgan so that's the main thing!)

Mission number two was for two.  Twins!  Again, Patchwork Cutters were used for the guitar and playing cards and I made the models as best I could to represent the cake's recipients.  For speed I used flower paste from A Piece of Cake which works well enough with the patchwork cutters.  In the past I have made the Patchwork cutters suggested recipe for Mexican paste which come out a little dryer.  Either is fine, just need a bit of cornflour to help things along with the flower paste.  Glasses are a particularly difficult thing to do when making models of people and so I attemped to make some from wire this time.  They turned out OK, but I'm still not 100 % happy with this technique either?  I'll have to attempt something different next time or have a practice.

I felt that again time was not on my side so there were a few details and bits that I wasn't happy with for these cakes.  I think that's because I am a perfectionist when it comes to creations.  Again the client was happy and the cakes were, I'm told, very well received so what felt like mission impossible was mission accomplished in the end.  3 in a week again.....  I think not.

Birthday Books

 This was a surprise birthday cake for a book worm commissioned by someone else she knows.  It wasn't the easiest to put together and, to be honest, there are things I would do differently.  Worst of all, was that it was so hot and humid, the sugar paste just wasn't doing what it ought to, so this was something of a challenge in more ways than one.

Tried a slightly different technique on modelling the figure's face which worked out alright but does look a little bit like botox has been deployed in the kisser!  ha ha!  Oh well.

The surprise didn't really go as planned so I think my efforts may have been in vain, but it was an experience and a learning curve but maybe not the best way to spend what has probably been the hottest weekend so far this year!

Richard & Rachel's Wedding Cake

I must admit to feeling a little daunted when Rachel said she would like roses and peonies on her cake.  I didn't know what a Peony was?!  So, lots of research, lots of trial, error, Googling, YouTube and advice from A Piece of Cake Thame and I think in the end, I pulled it off.

It was a long haul over the flowers though I must say.  It took weeks and weeks to get them all done in the evenings and weekends.  I stressed quite a bit over whether the peonies looked right or not.  I think I probably started about 12 and eventually there were 6 on the cake.  They had to be made using each individual petal, then curled so that they look as though they are unwrapping themselves into blousey flowers from the tight ball they start out as.

Wiring them together was interesting, and I hadn't made daisies before either, but they also seemed to turn out alright.  It was down to the wire with my wiring the flowers into posies for the top of each tier on Sunday morning, the day of the wedding.  We had to get to the venue at at least 1:30 with the ceremony at 2 o'clock.  I finished the cake at 11:20 in the morning!  Yikes!

Bride and Groom were pleased and I received lots of compliments, so I'm happy and, dare I say it, rather proud of myself.  ha ha!  Modest eh?

The wedding was fantastic, the bride and groom looked fabulous and the venue was gorgeous!  All in all a success for all.

Congratulations to Richard and Rachel on their marriage. xoxox

Stephanie, Stevie, Steve & Shayne's Wedding Cake

This has been a fair bit of work but I'm relatively pleased with the finished article.  Most importantly of all the Bride and Groom in question were pleased.  They seemed happy when I delivered it and that was reinforced with a lovely text message which made me all the more chuffed.

It read "Your cake was DELICIOUS!!!!! I don't even like cake and I scoffed 2 slices!!  Thank you so much for making it - everybody commented on how lovely it was!"

Mission accomplished I'd say!  Thank goodness!  I always get a bit anxious with wedding cakes.  I just want them to be perfect for such a big day.

Carol's Handbag

 This cake was made as a gift for a colleague who was celebrating a big birthday.  She's a lovely lady so she very much deserved a nice cake.  I tried to incorporate a few things that she's into to make the cake more personal.  She was very pleased and wouldn't let anyone cut it at work it was for "display purposes only" and everyone had to make do with bought cake for the office.  ha ha!  Bless her.  She said she'd never had a special cake made for her and gave me a big hug.  I guess it was worth being up until 1 am finishing this baby off then!  ha ha!  Gives me a buzz to think someones so pleased with their cake.

Simple Birthday Cake

This one was a commission from a colleague for his mother-in-law's 70th Birthday.  He just wanted something fairly simple and feminine which is a Mum sort of thing.  I'm not very good at doing dainty looking cakes.  I think the overall look of the cake was nice, but my piping is really not good!  More practice needed at piping for sure!  D'oh!  I hope mother-in-law was happy, although I'm told she was???

Farewell to Aus

This cake was for some friends of friends as a commission for their farewell party.  They've been over here for 10 years or so from Australia and they're headed home now.  They've made lots of lovely friends here by all accounts and so they had a bit of a get-together to wish them well and show them they'll be very much missed here in the UK.  This one was a chocolate cake with chocolate flavour Renshaws sugar paste.  This looks quite leathery when it's applied to the cake and so is ideal both for flavour and for the texture and look of it.  I made this old fashioned suit case and had some flags printed on icing (much the same as the birthday cake I made for Alix a couple of years ago, only a smaller, simplified version.)