Yellow Blossoms Rustic Wedding Cake

I was privileged to be able to create this unique, rustic wedding cake for my friend's younger brother.! The couple was actually married out of state in December, but they had a gorgeous celebration of their new marriage with family and friends at a local winery this weekend. I was given simple generalized ideas with a lot of creative leeway, which always equals an extra enjoyable experience..!

First, I baked the cakes that I would use- (2) 10 in rounds and (2) 6 in rounds of delicious white chocolate cake. I also prepared a batch of strawberry filling that was so simple and yummy that I think I could eat it over just about anything. On the creative side of things, I used a small blossom cutter to cut out several, severalll little gumpaste (basially an edible clay) blossoms in varying shades of golden yellow and white. I used tools to lightly shape the blossoms, brushed yellow shimmer dust on each one, and added a pearl stamen to all of the flowers. Then, I formed a few white gumpaste roses that were edged with the yellow shimmer dust as well. After icing the cakes with white chocolate buttercream, I added edible pearl accents around both layers, and piped beading around the top of the cake. Then, I scattered the blossoms over the top of the cake, surrounding their beautiful silhouette cake topper.

The venue and decorations were absolutely gorgeous.! Before the ceremony, I assembled the cake and finished everything off with additional piping and flowers.!

The photographer captured this awesome picture of me finishing up the wedding cake.! I love it.! Photo credit to: photosbysjr.com

Bacon Rosebud Cake

 Well, this was truly a labor of love since I don't eat bacon. I tend to sway towards making visually creative cakes, but as I've made creations based on several different favorite shows, books, and movies for my friend Hannah's past birthdays, I decided to try something new and be creative in a different way.! I have heard of treats including bacon, and imagine that the sweet and salty combo works well together.

 Bacon rosebuds are surprisingly simple to make, and turn out pretty cool.! I referenced this site to make mine (http://ourbestbites.com/2013/01/how-to-make-a-bacon-bouquet/) but the quick recap is, wrap up slices of bacon, fatty side to the bottom, and insert two toothpicks at the base. I covered a baking pan in foil and placed the bacon roses on a cooling rack, and baked them at 400 degrees for about 30 mins.
                               
Here they are.! So first I made a rich chocolate cake base. As the cake was cooling, I prepared the bacon rosebuds and fried the remainder of the pack of bacon. Then, I whipped up some brown sugar frosting..!!! Yumm. I got the basic recipe from this website (http://zimonawhim.com/2013/03/11/brown-sugar-frosting/) and it is amazing.!! I decided to use dark brown sugar and also added a pinch of sea salt- sooo good.! I put a thin layer of icing in between the cakes and crumbled up some bacon there, as well as on the top of the cake. I piped a shell border around the top and bottom of the cake, encircling the bacon rosebuds, and finished it off with a dusting of white sprinkles.!

Lightning McQueen Cake

 My nephew requested a Lightning McQueen cake for his 4th birthday, so this is how it turned out.! First, I baked three 9x13 cakes. I iced in between the layers, and broke up the third cake to form the bumpers, fender, and cab of the car.

 To make the tires, I rolled out a thin strip of black tinted gumpaste which I wrapped around two oreos. I used a circle cutter to cut red gumpaste to fill in each tire.

 I had previously used a hot glue gun to attach a black and white foam "road" to a cardboard cake board. I finished the road off with a fresh dusting of cocoa powder "dust." I used gumpaste, different color food gels and shimmer dust to form the eyes, lights, etc. Lastly, I piped yellow and orange lightning bolts on the sides of the car and additional black detailing and windows.

 Here's my little buggie boo (in the spongebob shirt) with his friend from school. He had a blast.! :)