Another Show & 2 More Ribbons

April brought me to the Great American Cake Show in Westminster, MD.  I entered the Master's Division Special Techniques and the Master's Division Chocolate.

My Special Techniques cake was fondant covered and then decorated in the Lambeth style using royal icing.  The technique is very labor intensive and the cake showcases many hours of meticulous piping.  I won first place and received many compliments.

My chocolate entry was, again, a ramped up class piece.  The green ChocoMonster is made from rice cereal treats covered in modeling chocolate.  The "rug" is also modeling chocolate done in a loose marquetry pattern.  Everything except the internal structure is edible.  The piece also won 1st place and earned me the Divisional title.

NCACS Show in VA--2 Blue Ribbons!

I traveled to VA for the National Capital Area Confectioners Cake Show, taking some classes and entering the Master's Chocolate and Cookie divisions.

My handcut cookies were handpainted totemic symbols of "Things With Wings".  I won 1st Place in my division.

I entered a class piece that I'd re-designed & improved upon for the chocolate division.  That piece also won 1st place.  Everything is made from modelling chocolate, hand painted, and dusted with edible pearl dust.

A Cheeky Monkey gets a Cheeky Monkey Cake!

Well, life comes full circle! I started making cakes when my eldest son asked for a soccer ball cake for his 7th birthday. I didn't really go beyond "star fill-in" cakes until my youngest son was turning 16--6 years ago. Now, I'm making birthday cakes for my grandson.

These 2 cakes flew from Cleveland, OH to Austin, TX in an overhead bin, arriving just as you see them. They were designed to coordinate with the "Mod Monkey" line of paper goods.
The large cake (served 20) is covered in fondant with a chocolate fondant monkey face on top.
The smash cake is done in buttercream so that the little guy wouldn't have to worry about breaking
through, or chewing, fondant.

Both cakes were chocolate with banana mousse filling and vanilla buttercream icing.
Connor was a blue mess after diving into his little, personal cake, but he sure had a lot of fun!

21 Candles & Some Cupcake............Cookies

A mom was missing her eldest daughter, who was turning 21 while at college.  Mom wanted to send some cookies to her in her favorite colors, teal & purple.
The vanilla sugar cookies are covered in embossed fondant & the 21 candles (one small cookie with a candle isn't in the photo) are hand modeled. 
Shipped via the USPS Priority Mail,  all arrived in perfect condition and were very much enjoyed by the birthday girl & her friends.

A Daffy, Bunny, Piggy Birthday Cake!

This cake was a gift to an avid Looney Toons collector.  Since she was a small child, she has always yearned for a "special" birthday cake, so what better than a cake featuring Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Porky Pig!

The 12" round, 2 inch tall cake is chocolate fudge cake filled with cookies & cream mousse, iced in vanilla buttercream. It would server 24.  The top of the cake is a fondant plaque with hand cut "cartoons" of the 3 Looney Toons icons. The sides are decorated with small, primary colored edible quins.

"That's All, Folks!"

Diamonds & Bows--a special 25th

I was contacted by the winner of a charity auction certificate about making a cake for her parent's 25th wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, I was going to be out of town the day of the party, but I assured her that if she had enough freezer and refrigerator space, she could have almost any cake she wanted.

I absolutely DO NOT freeze my cakes as part of my regular practice as a baker & decorator, but there have been several times when someone has wanted/needed a cake on a date when I was not going to be in town.  I was taught a method of freezing and defrosting a decorated cake for up to several weeks that will keep it looking perfect and tasting fresh-baked.  I take care to create a design that can fit in the freezer & refrigerator space available to the recipient and I include detailed instructions about how to properly care for the cake so that it arrives at the table looking it's best.

This cake was a 2 tier, stacked marble cake (a 9" tier + a 7" tier to serve 40) with vanilla buttercream icing, quilting with hand made fondant "dragees", a hand modeled fondant "25", and a gum paste fluffy bow on a gum paste plaque.

The photo of the cake was taken AFTER it was frozen for a week and then defrosted for 24 hrs.  The recipient positioned the bow topper & the "25" after the cake had come to room temp., right before her party.

Because I couldn't take my own photo of the completed cake, the recipient graciously sent me the above picture and stated in her e-mail, "Again Thank you so much! It was beautiful and delicious!"

Hubby Breaks Another Speed Limit !

For the first time in 15 years, we were able to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws in New Hampshire.  My DH's birthday always falls around Turkey Day, so I took advantage of having lots of family around and made him a birthday cake.  Yes, he has a cake decorator wife, but only gets a birthday cake every 5 years, or so, go figure.......
Poor guy, he also got about the simplest cake possible--a speed limit sign marking his 55th.

The cake is a 9x13x2 that would serve 24, french vanilla with vanilla buttercream.  I did jazz it up by putting 20 long black sparkler candles in the numbers for serving--you know, the kind that refuse to go out......