We're All Mad Here!

For my sister's Sweet (maybe) 16, she chose an Alice in Wonderland theme complete with miniature "drink me" bottles, hand made invitations (200 of them!), playing card towers, and of course, an Alice inspired three-tier cake (drawing included).

When I asked her to come up with a design, I had no idea that THIS is what she would think of. How did the party work out? Wonderfully.Was everyone relieved the day AFTER the party? Yes. It was like a mishmash combination of My Super Sweet 16 and Bridezillas but we persevered! I also have to admit that everyone had a great time, my sister looked beautiful in all of her Alice in Wonderland glory, and I was able to get in a lot of practice creating this cake. 

Lets start off with the card soldiers and mushrooms:

These little guys were lovingly created with gumpaste in order for them to completely harden and be capable of standing on their own without added supports and resulted in two very red hands.

Teacups:

Working through a way to get that cup shape without leaving any seams and a way to harden without sinking down left my head spinning in the same way as though I had just gotten off their iconic ride in Disney World.

Finally...

In all of it's topsy turvy glory, Alice's cake made it to the event without being upended by the March Hare or Mad Hatter. A very merry unbirthday to you, and you, and you. Happy baking everyone!

No Time Like the Present

One of my favorite styles of cakes to make are present cakes. These consist of a base color for the "wrapping paper", another color for the bow, and a highlighting color for the bow's edging which adds a little bit of depth to the cake and makes it look a tad fancier. The best part about this style cake is that it can be dressed up for the holidays,graduations, or any other celebratory occasion, and depending on the colors could be for either a male or female.

Although most real presents are typically square or rectangular, I usually prefer a circular shape. As they say, you should always think out of the box! Until next time, happy baking everyone!

Movin' and Groovin'

The little man is growing up fast! For my cousin's baby's first birthday, I was asked (ok, volunteered) to make a cake inspired by music, particularly guitars and drums that also matched the design for his invitations.

The trickiest part? Getting those darn guitars to stay upright without the cake behind it for support. Spoonfuls of melted white chocolate and light blue fondant later, I discovered a solution. Toothpicks! Who knew the little things could come in handy in more ways than eating appetizers and cubes of cheese. As for matching the invitations...

Now let's not forget the whole drum aspect here, every one year old deserves a cake of their own...

...and a sugar rush to last until next year!

Happy baking everyone!

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Over the summer, I started my internship at Montilios Bakery where I was promptly stuck in cupcake land. Since the end of my very first day, I've had swirls of frosting running through my mind and sometimes catch myself automatically moving my arm in the tell-tale piping cupcakes motion. Finally in the midst of sprinkling, one of my coworkers asked if I could pipe roses. I said yes but asked for a mini refresher and nervously reached for the bag after she went from a clean and shiny rose nail to a hot pink buttercream rose in approximately .5 seconds. After a few tries, I found my stride and ended up with this:

THAT is the moment that I fell in love with piping roses along with everyone else loving that I loved piping roses. Apparently its everyone's least favorite job, but to me it's another step up from where I started. Happy baking everyone!

Who, What, When, Where and Why

Hi everyone! I'm Nicole and I am trying to establish a name and reputation for myself among the incredible chefs of the baking and pastry world. I am currently in my final year of culinary school and gearing towards launching my own business specializing in custom cakes and specialty desserts. I have created this blog as a way to showcase my work and hopefully gain customers in the process. I will be posting at least weekly, so please follow me on my culinary journey and feel free to contact me if I can help make your next event extra special.