Cupcakes a la Hawaii

For the Ohio ICES Day of Sharing, members  were asked to do something special with a dozen cupcakes.  The cupcakes served as centerpieces for our luncheon tables and after lunch, they were donated to the Ronald McDonald House. 
I wanted my cupcakes to be bright and 100% edible, so I chose to make a Hawaiian lei using modeling chocolate hibiscus flowers and leaves.  All of the flowers and leaves were hand modeled.  The cupcakes are orange creamsicle filled with white chocolate mousse and iced with vanilla buttercream.

News Flash! World Travelers Marry!

Alex and Kristen met online, moved to Africa, got engaged at an elephant park where lions lurked, returned to Brooklyn, got married, moved to Wisconsin with their cat, Squee, and on a lovely September day came to Cleveland for a pig roast to celebrate their status as "Just Married".

Alex's mom request a cake to chronicle the newlywed's journey.  This was my interpretation:

The happy couple sits atop moving boxes--undoubtedly one of hundreds that they've seen over the past few years--surrounded by the continent of Africa and the 3 states that have figured prominently in their new married life--New York, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

A sleeping elephant reclines on Africa, entwined wedding rings and the yellow rose and coneflowers from Kristen's wedding bouquet sit atop New York, Squee the cat pops out of a moving carton on Wisconsin, and a roast pig with an apple in it's mouth rests on Ohio.

The cake is a 7x11x4"high white cake with lemon zest custard filling, iced in vanilla buttercream.  It would serve 24-36.  The suitcase covering is fondant.  All of the decorations are hand modeled fondant.  Everything is completely edible.

It's Rocket Man, It's Batman--NO--It's Ron Heitman's 70th Birthday!

Here in Cleveland, every once in awhile, on a lovely sunny day, you can be driving down I-271 and do a double-take when what goes ZOOMMMMM-ing by ????  THE ROCKET CAR!  Now, you say, what the devil is The Rocket Car?  It's a beautifully restored ride from the now defunct Euclid Beach Amusement Park.  Or, perhaps you'll see a sleek looking 2 seater with blinding chrome trim, huge fins, and FIRE coming out of the rear exhaust!  Yep, it's a BATMOBILE--restored and tearing up the highway.
The owner/restorer of these marvelous icons, Ron Heitman, celebrated his 70th birthday recently and I was asked to re-create them in cake.  To round out the display (and the number of servings), I also made a Snap-On tool chest, complete with his initials carved in the top.
The tool chest was devil's food cake with vanilla buttercream.  It served 75+.  The open drawer of the chest was yellow pound cake with cookies 'n cream filling.  It served  18.  The rocket car was marble pound cake with cookies 'n cream filling.  It served 24+.  The Batmobile was also marble pound cake and served 12+.  All  were covered in fondant with hand modeled and hand painted accents.

ICES 2010--Hangin' 10 in San Diego!

My annual convention for the International Cake Exploration Societe (ICES)  was held in San Diego, CA in August.  George and I carried 2 small cakes on the plane for display in the Cake Shack.  They wound up being THE representatives for OH.

The birdhouse cake was done in a class with Lisa M. Hook in Michigan last summer.  All of the river rocks covering it are hand modeled.

The blue square cake is done in the style of Nirvana using royal icing panels for the sides.  The daisies are fondant.

I also took 2 hands on classes while in San Diego.  The first was a carved and airbrushed shark cake class taught by Mike Elder, the 3 time winner of the Ultimate Cake Challenge on TLC.  Great teacher and fun class.  He wasn't as mean as he looks................Mike or my shark!

My second class was making tropical flowers from modeling chocolate.  It was pretty warm and humid, so I wasn't happy with the results, but I got the idea!

I could also include the HUNDREDS of pics I took of the magnificent roses that were growing everywhere at the resort, but I won't.  It was a fantastic time to be in San Diego and while I played, George was able to help gather a few more goodies for the WLM.  All in all, a wonderful trip.

A Hot Time in Texas!

In August, I was fortunate to be able to combine 2 things that I really love into one, week-long trip to Austin, TX--an extended visit with my adorable 5 month old grandson, Connor, and his parents  AND 6 days of classes plus the Capital Confectioner's Day of Sharing with British cake artist, Stephen Benison!

The first set of classes produced this amazing black and white beauty.  The intricate side appliques are all hand cut, but applied in a grouping so that each design is identical.  The butterfly is meant to look like it's getting ready to take off................We used an array of cutters in a variety of unusual ways to create designs.

The second set of classes was making a floral spray, shoes, and handbags.

My third class with Stephen involved making a sampler cake using many of his original cutters and topping it with a handcut magnolia blossom with stylized petals.

So much work done in 5 days, but so many amazing ideas and techniques to show for it!  I had a wonderful time and hope that I can do it again.