Minnie Mouse Cake, and Cupcakes

This one was for my sweet girl who turned 5 last week. We originally were going to do a splash mountain cake. (She wanted something Disneyland themed.) But when she saw the ombre ruffle cake that I did a few weeks ago, she wanted that. (Of course anything pink, ruffled, and girlie, she is going to want more than a mountain.)

So I tried to figure out how we incorporate pink ruffles into a Disneyland themed cake. And it hit me, minnie mouse. One downside to the top cake is, that is, if you eat black fondant, it makes your mouth completely black for awhile, so I try to avoid black. But you can't really do that with minnie mouse. One thing that I was excited about, was I tried a few different things with my recipes, and It turned out so good.
She had two parties, and also had to take a treat to preschool, so instead of making three cakes, the kids got cupcakes. I wanted to do something just cute and simple. And I think they were.

Bird-watching Cake

Well I got a call on saturday night, about 7:30. My mom was telling me it was my grandpa's 86th birthday the next day. My thought immediately was how dare she wait so long to tell me?! How could I make a cake in time. (Now one, of course she wasn't expecting me to make a cake. and two, I could always try remembering my grandpa's birthday myself.)

So I literally threw a cake in the oven, then in the freezer to cool as quick as possible. Then the next cake, I did the same thing. Until they were cool enough to cover and decorate. So for how hurried this cake was, it still turned out cute.

So I had to call my mom back to have her remind me what some of my grandpa's hobbies were. As soon as she said it, I felt dumb for not thinking of it myself. My grandpa has always been into watching birds, and especially now that he's getting a bit older, it has been a hobby that he can still enjoy. So on the side I made a little bird watching man, complete with little binoculars.

This cake was a chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream filling, and the bottom cake was a strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream, all covered in, of course marshmallow fondant.

Not to shabby for just a few hours huh?

Ombre Fly Fishing Cake

Well I've gotten a taste for the ombre effect and I'm liking it if you can't tell. I promise I won't do ombre on every cake from here on out. Maybe a few more, though :)I saw a picture of ombre waves, and loved it. So I was torn, do I do fondant ombre wave layers? Or do I use my new airbrush that I've been wanting to try out? Well as you can see the airbrush won. But I feel like it may have looked better if I had done it with my original idea, which is to color each wave a different variation of blue. But I have to say it was fun to play with my airbrush. And it was a lot quicker, and used less fondant.
Usually I am so nervous about making fondant characters, I feel like they turn out, well, not good. (Maybe since the first time I tried, on the incredibles cake, they did not.) But since then I've had a lot more practice. I feel like this little fisherman turned out pretty cute don't you?
This cake was made for my Father-in-law, a master fly fisherman. Technically, his fondant counterpart is missing glasses. But I was too afraid to draw some on, in fear I would ruin the whole thing. So minus the glasses I think he turned out pretty fun!
Happy birthday, and happy fishing!

Ombre ruffles and roses cake:

So I get in my mind these cakes that I want to do, but then I never do them, because I'm doing a race car, or a castle or something. So I have been wanting to do an ombre cake for awhile.

For those of you who do not know what ombre is, just look at the bottom cake. The gradation of color from light to dark. See it, that's ombre, and it's the "thing" right now. With hair, clothes, and yes cakes.
So now I'm officially "with it." (As far as this cake goes, anyway.)
Since it was my sister-in-law's birthday, I decided she didn't need anything cheesy and themey. (Although I was tempted to do a mouth or a tooth, because she's a dentist, but there will be many more birthdays for that to happen.) And what girl doesn't want a pretty, pink ruffly, flowery cake?
I do love how it turned out, so pretty and feminine.

Scavenger Map Cake:

Well I got the call on Thursday night needing this cake for Saturday morning. Luckily, nothing needed to have too much time to set up, so we were ok. Apparently the birthday boy loves to make maps, and have scavenger hunts.
She was worried about it looking "piratey". And all the pictures she had seen of treasure map cakes, were definitely piratey. But I think I was able to take it away from a pirate theme. I was nervous about the map. I feel like when I'm drawing things, it can tend to look like a ten year old drew them. But I did my best.
For the coins, I actually used real coins (after bleaching, and soaking them in soapy water,) to press into my fondant to give the impression of coin. Then sprayed them in silver, and gold. And after they were dry, painted them with brown to give them a dirtier look. I found some plastic and cut it out to make the inside of the magnifying glass, which is the only bit not edible.
Sometimes I love doing things like this with cake. (In that, I mean using frosting to cover the cake, not fondant.) And then you can always use fondant to add some fun little details. It's just fun for a change. Plus, because it wasn't covered in fondant I used cream cheese buttercream, which is always extra tasty. Happy hunting!

Cake Pops:

Here's my first go at cake pops. I decided to do something not to complicated for my first go. I actually had never eaten cake pops, I found myself missing frosting, or filling. So next time I try it I want to figure out a way to get a little somethin' somethin' on the inside.

Bubblegum Machine Cake!

Happy birthday to Maddie! I was so nervous about this cake. It took me a long time to find a bowl. In the end I had to buy a glass one, and it was maybe a little bit to big, but it worked. I was so nervous about how heavy the glass would be, especially with the gum balls in it, that's a lot for a cake to hold up.
Lucky for me I have an awesome husband to help me figure out the technical side of cakes. We put some rods in, to hold the bowl up above the cake, just a bit. And then secured it with frosting and fondant.
It was actually my husband's idea to spell out Maddie, on the gumballs, and the #5 on the one that has "dropped down."
Here's her cute table she had set up, she did a cute job. Altogether I really like the way this one turned out.