Adventurers in Never Never Land

The great cake weekend of August 2009 started out with the Fairytale Tree House cake. This is my absolute favorite cake that I have ever made and deserves its own blog post! Also the most nerve-raking. My friend Leslie’s daughter was turning five and she asked me to do her birthday cake. We decided that it would be a fairy theme. I found two different cakes that I really liked and I modeled my cake after them.

I had to make a lot of alterations while making this cake due to the terrible humidity. Most of the cake was suppose to be done in fondant but the fondant just wouldn’t dry in the humidity. So I ended up using mostly butter cream and royal icing. It was so humid even the royal icing wouldn’t dry and it is suppose to harden like concrete.
The obvious challenge of this cake is the height and getting the castle to balance perfectly on top. I knew I would have no real way of knowing that it was all going to work until I got to the party and assembled it. By 2:00AM on Friday night/Saturday morning I had everything I could get done at home finished and I had to get a few hours of sleep before I had to deliver the cake.
The next obstacle was transporting the cake. Leslie has a beautiful house on the lake but her drive way is practically a 90 degree angle. Luckily it made it there just fine in three pieces. I did most of the construction the morning of the party at Leslie’s house and held my breath as the butter cream started to slide in the heat and the castle wobbled on top…
Against all odds this cake made it through the party until it was time to light the candles. Let me know what you think!
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Fairytale Tree House Cake

Castle Up close

Birthday Girl with her cake

Tree Trunk

The best part was that my wonderful fiance cleaned up my disaster of a mess that I left so I could start working on the other two cakes!
I’ll post about those tonight!

Busy week!

I took the GMAT yesterday and didn’t get the score I wanted…So that changes my plans a little. I’m still applying to school but I’m going to keep studying and take the test again. Only problem is the test is not cheap ($250) and neither are the applications (about $600) or traveling for the interviews (flight, hotel, etc…). To make any of this possible I’m going to have to get a part time job. I’d really rather just make cakes for people in my free time than work at Target or something, so please check out the Bake Sale link above and bid on a holiday cake. If you have another event coming up like a birthday or special dinner, I’d also be more than happy to work with you to make a great cake.

That aside I have a busy cake week ahead of me! I’m making a cake for my friend’s daughter’s birthday party. She is turning five and we’re doing an enchanted forest, fairy theme! I’m super excited to make this cake and I hope it turns out well! I’m also going to be making two birthday cakes this weekend. One for one of my co-workers and one for one of Dan’s co-workers. Check back this weekend for some pictures!

Here fishy fishy fishy…

My little brother came to visit this weekend from FL. So a made a cake shaped like a fish for him. It was an interesting experience. I should have used pound cake because the vanilla cake I made was a little too soft for sculpting. The thick layer of butter cream held things together but made it harder to make the scales. I ended up painting it with food coloring paste as opposed to edible glitter because I bought the wrong thing. Now I know.

Let me know what you think of the Fish Cake!

Me with the fish

At the campground

Fish Head

Fish

Team J.E.T!

similar idea to mine

Embedded video from CNN Video

Check out the video link above. This woman was in a lot of trouble and she baked her way out of it! I’m not in a lot of trouble but I am trying to bake my way to a better future. Please bid on a holiday cake or let me brighten up your next event. Click the Bake Sale link above.
THANKS
Terry

Back to School Bake Sale!

Back to School Bake Sale!

As many of you know, I’m applying to go back to school this fall! I’m so excited and really looking forward to it.  Every night I’ve been studying for the GMAT (hence the lack of cakes this month).  I take the GMAT on August 17 and I’m feeling confident I can do well.

What I am not so confident about is the cost of applying to business schools and lack of income for two years while in school.  To compensate for this and help me through this exciting time, I’m having a bake sale!!!

Here is how it works.  It is going to be an auction for some holiday cakes.  I know the holidays seem far away, but it is never too early to start planning!  What better way to make this year special than with a custom cake!  A description of what is being bid on is listed below.  I’ll update the price in the order I receive the bids.   To bid please leave a comment or send an e-mail (sweetiecakesandpies@gmail.com) with the following information:

1.  Name

2. E-mail address

3. What holiday cake you are bidding on

4. Price you are willing to pay

These are custom cakes, so I’ll do my best to create whatever your heart desires.  If you win a cake, we will have a session, either in person or over the phone, to design the perfect cake for you.

The auction will close on September 14, 2009 (my birthday) at midnight.  Payments must be received by October 1, 2009 or your cake will be given to the next bidder.  I can only take cash or check, but if this is going to be a problem just e-mail me and we can work something out like pay pal.

Sorry I can only deliver within a 100-mile radius of Ithaca, NY.

When we have our design session, we will discuss delivery and work out a time that best suits your needs on the day the cake will be delivered.  One week prior to deliver, I will confirm those details with you.

My goal in this auction is to raise enough money to cover my expenses while applying to business school and to create an amazing cake to make your holiday’s memorable.  Custom cakes from established bakeries usually start out around $1,000.  I hope that I provide you with this unique experience for much less while still reaching my goal.

Enough with the details! Time for the sweet stuff. 😉

The Cakes!

1.  Halloween Party Cake!

Bid Starting at $100

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so I suspect there will be a lot of parties!   If you’re planning on having a Halloween party let the centerpiece be a custom cake.  If you’re not having a party, this is a great way to impress your trick-or-treater’s! Some cake ideas for Halloween

• 3D haunted house
• 3D grave yard
• 3D pupkin
• Witch’s Hat
• Theme stacked or tiered cake
• Cupcake Tower
• Anything you can imagine!

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  Halloween Idea from Wilton's web page

2.  Thanksgiving

Bid Starting at $100

Make the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving feast a unique cake custom designed to suit your taste.  If you are having an intimate dinner with your immediate family this could be a great way to make this dinner stand out.  Likewise, a custom cake could be the center of conversations for a large family gathering.  Let me take some of the holiday pressure off you in the kitchen and create a masterpiece!

• Cheesecake covered in falling leaves
• Tiered/stacked cake
• Cornucopia with fruits and vegetables.
• Thanksgiving table
• Any idea you have, I’ll try to make it!

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  Thanksgiving Idea From Wilton

3. Christmas

Bid Starting at $100

There is so much going on at Christmas let me take some of that stress away from you.  A custom cake could be a great gift or an excellent addition to your family’s holiday.  The possibilities of what this cake could be are endless!  Get in the Christmas spirit and let your imagination run wild!

• Christmas wreath
• Christmas House
• Christmas Tree
• Ornaments
• Presents
• Winter wonderland
• Staked or Tiered Cake
• Let your imagination go wild

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  Christmas/Winter Idea from Wilton

Thanks so much for looking and possibly bidding.  If you have another occasion in the near future that you’d like a custom cake for, please let me know.  I’d be happy to work with you and create the perfect cake for your event!