Strawberry Shortcake Cake with Lemon Meringue

A Strawberry Shortcake Cake with Lemon Meringue.  The cakes were a 6 inch and 8 inch round, Strawberry Shortcake with fresh strawberry Italian Meringue Buttercream; I even flavored the MMF (marshmallow fondant) with Strawberry Flavoring LorAnn Oil - it smelled so deliciously good!

Here's a closer look at Strawberry Shortcake.  She stands at almost 5 1/2 inches tall and is constructed out of gumpaste.  The clothing is a mix of both MMF and Gumpaste.  I dusted the cheeks with pink petal dust and also painted her entire outfit in both red and pearl luster dust that I diluted with vodka.  I hand molded the strawberries on the top of the cake and used an assortment of different blossom and rose calyx cutters for the green leaf on the strawberries.  The green petals were hand cut free hand. 

Lemon Meringue is also mostly made out of gumpaste with some of her hair and clothing being a mix of gumpaste and MMF.  Both of the figurines had one long popsicle stick that went from the middle of their heads and straight down into the bottom of the cake.  On the actual cake, I insert regular drinking straws down them, trim them so they sit flushed to the top of the cake and then slide the figurines down them for added stability.  An added bonus when inserting them this way is that when you cut the cake, you get a clean popsicle stick to hold the figurines with instead of one coated in cake and buttercream.

A closer look at the figurines while they were drying.  Note all the push pins in Strawberry Shortcake used to help hold up the hat's rim and her skirt as they dried overnight.  They work perfectly and only leave behind a tiny little pin mark.

This is such a cute photo of the birthday girl being cute and silly as the cake was being photographed (by Brian Ramsay Photography).

And my favorite shot, Serenity taking a bite off Strawberry Shortcake's face....priceless.

Photo's provided by Brian Ramsay Photography.

Los Angeles Lakers Cake

Who loves the Lakers?  We do most definitely, especially with being so near to LA.  This was created for Blake who turned 10 and loved the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.  It's an 8 inch round, Chocolate cake filled with Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC) - recipe linked HERE.  It's covered and decorated in Marshmallow Fondant (MMF).

The logo was made using the same technique on my Boston Red Sox Cake (click HERE to see it).

The only difference is the "Los Angeles" font and the dashes around the "Lakers" was pipped (these were just too tiny to cut out of fondant).  In order for the purple piping to match the other purple on the cake, I diluted the MMF with a tiny bit of hot water and mixed it up really well until it was evenly melted.  I then piped it using a #1 round piping tip and a toothpick to help move each stroke into it's proper place as I tried to copy the logo as exact as I could.

Those wonderful basketball bumps...to achieve the basketball texture I used a #5 round piping tip and punched them one by one around the entire cake.  It took an hour alone to get the texture done - doesn't it look neat!

For the black striping along the sides of the cake, I first impressed the pattern on the sides of the cake using one of those tear drop shaped flower shaping tools (don't know the name for it), used an clay extruder to extrude the black "rope", then smoothed them "into" the impression on the cake so that the stripes were more flushed to the surface rather than protruding way out.

This is the extruder I like using - it comes with a clear acrylic box that conveniently keeps everything together:Walnut Hollow Clay Extruder Set

As for the base board, I was trying to achieve the basketball court flooring.  I cut out the individual panels, scored them with the thin tool to get the wood grain, assembled them on the board, then brushed it over with clear piping gel that I diluted way down with vodka that was mixed with a teeny drop of brown gel color.  The piping gel dries glossy and helps the board resemble the shiny basketball floor quite well I think.

I hand cut the Laker's Jersey's (one purple home jersey and one yellow away jersey) and added the birthday boys age to them using the FMM Tappit Cutter Set.

Boston Red Sox Cake

A 6 inch Boston Red Sox Cake with a wood grain board (to resemble the wood of a baseball bat).  Although simple, hand cutting the logo and font were time consuming!

I used a transfer method to get the logo just right that I adapted from Jessica Harris on how she makes perfect stripes on the sides of her cakes.

I printed the logo backwards and taped up it inside a sheet protector.  I then lightly rubbed the surface of the sheet protector with shortening to help the fondant stick.  Using a clay extruder, I extruded the red band around the entire logo, the blue outline around the baseball and the red stitches.  Using a tiny bit of water, I attached all the stitches to one another so they wouldn't move out of place (they were very tiny and thin).

For the "Boston Red Sox" font, I printed out the letters on regular paper, cut them out and used them as templates to cut out the fondant with.  There were so many angles and curves in the font that it was easier to use various piping tips to cut some of the parts rather than trying to use an exacto knife.  Once the letters were all cut, I lay then in place over the sheet protector template.  I did this a few days ahead and just let it air dry.  

After the cake was covered in fondant, I put it in the fridge for a few hours, removed it, let the cake sit on the counter for a couple minutes to get a little bit of condensation on it then flipped the logo template over the cake and carefully pressed and peeled the sheet protector off.  The little bit of condensation on the cake helped stick everything in place perfectly - I didn't have to mess with brushing water to the fondant to get it to stick.

With the cake being simple, I wanted to do something creative with the board and thought of a baseball bat.  I made the wood grain board by marbling fondant together then scoring lines with a thin tool and poking some holes in it.  I then brushed it over with a tiny bit of white gel color that I diluted way down with vodka.  It help give the board a white washed look and made the wood grain pop.

The entire cake is decorated in Marshmallow Fondant (MMF).  I did add Tylose powder to the pieces that I used to make the logo with so that they would dry harder and not be too stretchy for when I was cutting them out.

Hope you like it!

Korean Hanbok Dol Cake Toppers

I love making these figurines and luckily, I had the awesome opportunity to make 4 of them last year.

Each figurine is made out of gumpaste and stand at 4-5 inches tall.  All the little details on the hat and shirt are hand painted in gel colors and gold luster dust.  I also add pearl dust to the clothing to give the illusion of silk cloth.  To see how they're made, take a look at one of the 1st Hanbok Dol's I made HERE:  My first Hanbok Dol Figurine.

Ci's Hanbok Dol Figurine (June 2012):  My 2nd Hanbok Dol Figurine and custom made to match the little, birthday's girls traditional Korean dress:  She stood at 5 inches tall.  I also made a couple dozen flower blossoms and butterflies to decorate her own cake with.

Maddison's Hanbok Dol Figurine (Aug 2012):  She's a replica of the very 1st Hanbok Dol Figurine I made a little over a year ago but instead of standing at only 3 inches tall, this one is 5 inches tall.

Jenn's Hanbok Dol Figurine's (Nov 2012):  2 Cousins celebrating their 1st birthday together.  Each one was custom made to match their traditional, 1st birthday Hanbok Dress.  Each is 4 inches tall.

A Painted Curious George Cake

Where have I been?  Life has been busy, very busy that I haven't had time to keep up the blog or do many cakes.  This years resolution (and with it being February already), I'm going to try to post more stuff.  2012 went by in a flash and I'll post a little recap on the few 2012 cakes that were done.  I've also got the painting itch back and started, on New Year's day, to paint a mural along one wall of our dining room.  Although I had originally planned to take a couple days to complete it, it has turned out to be a unfinished project - where has the time gone already!

A couple weeks ago, I got the opportunity to take my painting itch and paint a little cake - at least this one was completed.  The theme was Curious George and with one of my favorite scenes in the movie being the one where he paints the room walls with palm trees, giraffes, and butterflies, I knew it would perfect on the cake and cupcake toppers for a little boys 2nd Birthday.

And how exciting was I to find my cake was picked and featured on Cake Central's Friday Faves (Feb 8, 2013) - giddy as can be!  Curious George is a cutie!

Here is a 360 degree view of the cake, a 6 inch Red Velvet covered in MMF and painted with AmeriColor Gel colors.  I also made 4 dozen Funfetti Cupcakes with matching MMF Toppers.

The inspiration for the cake - A scene from the movie - Curious George's painted wall.