The National Capital Area Cake Show 2016

 Oh my gosh.!!!! I had an absolute blast at The National Capital Area Cake Show (2016).! My friend found a Groupon for the event, and passed it along since she knows how much I love cake decorating, and we decided we had to be there. What an awesome event.! There were so many inspirational, gorgeous, unbelievably intricate, creative works of art.!! The auditorium was filled with these masterpieces that were on display and judged by all of the attendees as well as professional judges. Several different vendors encircled the cakes, there was a bakesale,  and free demos were offered, as well as the opportunity to take a variety of advanced classes for an additional fee.

I took pictures of most of the entries and compiled them all here, for myself, and for any friends interested in taking a closer look. There were several different divisions, all of which showcased a variety of technical and creative skills and amazing talent. I reallllllly wanted to enter a piece, but didn't have the time to prepare this year. Next year though, I can't wait to take part in the competition!

 It was so interesting watching Isomalt demos- I can't wait to try that technique.! Very neat.

 I love my penguins :)

 I can't get over all the fine details.! So incredibly realistic. It was so inspiring to be around such creativity.!

 One of the division themes was Destination Wedding Cakes. There were several insanely beautiful interpretations of some of the most luxurious, exotic places in the world.!

 The Pixar lamp.!

 There was also a few submissions made of different mediums such as modeling chocolate and sugar work.

 All of the flower work was absolutely unreal.! Beautiful. I love the chalkboard effect!

 Australia Cake.! :) They even have the little blue fairy penguins I got to see during my Phillip Island adventure <3

 We attended a free demo for Cake Lace Flowers (to the left), and then for Gown Embellishing Techniques (the cake to the right). Both were informative and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the Gown Embellishing Techniques by Kathleen Lange because she stressed the importance of learning a variety of skills, and of speed and depth of knowledge and creativity over constantly buying each next new trendy (oftentimes expensive) tool(s). Also because she gets to travel all over the world decorating cakes *sigh* my dream job.!

 We missed the fashion show, but did see the display of edible (.!!!!! crazy right.?!) sugar outfits that were worn by models and accompanied with matching cakes.

 There was also an airbrush competition that we did have the awesome opportunity to watch. The theme was underwater fantasy, and each team had to airbrush models using edible ingredients, and design corresponding cakes. It was so interesting to watch and to hear the artists' inspirations as well as fun elements that were used (including outfits made of wafer paper, gelatin webs, oatmeal accents, using mesh and nets, and so much more.!)

 The sloth riding the turtle is so happy :) -And why shouldn't he be riding a turtle.?!

 These were my two personal favorite cakes. The underwater theme and the jungle theme- both over the top intricate, detailed, amazing, amazing colorful, creative, gorgeous pieces.!! I definitely couldn't imagine wanting to cut into one of them!

We had an amazing time.! I Can't wait for next year :)

Spring Flowers Hill Cake

I made this cake for an outdoorsy little girl's 2nd Birthday, to accompany her Bunny Cake smash cake.! First, I baked two 9 in rounds of lemon cake and prepared raspberry filling. While everything was baking and cooling, I used gumpaste (edible clay) and different colors of food gel to form a variety of adorable flowers, butterflies, and ladybugs.! :D I striped green food gel up the inside of my piping bag to add variety to the shades of green grass I covered the cake with. & Voila.! a beautiful, colorful, springy cake.!

Bunny Cake

I lovvve how cute this turned out!!!! My friend wanted an outdoor, spring-y  themed cake and accompanying smash cake for her daughter's second Birthday. I had seen the general idea for this cake before, and couldn't wait to try it myself. What a simple, cute, fun spin on a smash cake.! I tend to always want to overcomplicate designs and start on projects in an overambitious mindset. Granted, I'm sure the 2 year old would be just as happy with a lot less, but I enjoyed creating the mini bunny cake!

First, I baked two 6 in rounds of cake. As the cake cooled, I rolled out white gumpaste (basically edible clay) thin, and cut out and formed the shapes for the bunny's big feet. I used different sized icing tips to cut out the pads of the bunny's feet with pink tinted gumpaste, and used a tiny amount of water to adhere the gumpaste to the gumpaste. I then formed the bunny paws using gumpaste as well, and set the decorations to the side to dry and harden. Next, I iced the cake with light green buttercream. I used my large multi opening grass decorating tip to place tufts of grass all around the cake and where the bunny would be popping out. ***I striped a bit of extra green food gel down the side of the inside of my piping bag to add extra variation. To make the bunny head, I bought pre-made rice krispy treats. I microwaved 3 of the treats for about 12 seconds- you don't want them very heated but just enough that you can mold them together- rubbed a liberal amount of cooking spray on my hands so the treats wouldn't stick to me, and formed the shape I wanted and refrigerated briefly. Then, I added the feet and paws to the cake, then formed the ears out of - you guessed it - more gumpaste.!!! The ears I let dry on their sides to maintain the bent shape, and stuck a toothpick part way up each ear so I would later be able to attach them to the main bunny rice krispy treat head.! I covered the head with more gumpaste, added the eyes, nose, and whiskers, ears, and finished everything up with more tufts of grass.

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.! :)