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Twin Teddy Baby Shower Cake

Sep20

 

Twin Teddy Baby Shower Cake & CupcakesTwin Teddy Baby Shower Cake & CupcakesJanita ordered this Twin Teddy Cake and these cupcakes for a baby shower recently.  The inspiration for the cupcakes was her delightful invitation with its cute teddies in shades of lavender, pink & blue, and of course the twin baby boy and girl. The cake was a simple vanilla and vanilla bean buttercream barrel cake which I set on a board covered with blue & lavender wood embossed sugar paste. I lightly dusted the top of the cake and painted the grass detail at the base of the cake.  The twin teddies sitting cutely on their cake  are dressed in their tiny blue and lavender outfits ready for their party.

Most of the cupcakes are topped with twin teddies sitting back to back or nestled in the creamy iced layers and the others have a twin boy and girl footprint to celebrate the imminent arrival of the babies. I am sure this family will be blessed with these twins in their lives and I wish them double the laughter, fun and joy that all babies bring into this world!

Baby Shower Cake & CupcakesTeddy Baby Shower Cake & CupcakesTwin Teddy Baby Shower Cake & Cupcakes

Masquerade Ball Cupcakes

Sep12

Masquerade Ball Cupcakes

Tarryn celebrated her 40th birthday with her family and friends and she chose as her theme a Masquerade Ball. As much as I love clients who give me carte blanche in their cake and cupcake orders, I also love those who know exactly what they want when they place their orders. Tarryn was so organized with the ideas she had in mind right down to the exact colours and shades she wanted her decorations to be. The sugar paste masks and feathers were easy to do in the chosen colours and I added my touches with the embossing and stamping on the flowers, masks and feathers. I chose the music notes stamp as her niece was going to be singing some of her favourite songs on the evening of the party. The final touch were the hints of gold I added as beads to some of the flowers and edible lace to some of the masks. Thanks Tarryn for this marvellous Masquerade Ball Cupcake order and I was thrilled to hear that your party was such a success after all the preparation and enthusiasm you put into it. Perfect news to hear too that your guests enjoyed these cupcakes.

Masquerade Ball CupcakesMasquerade Ball Cupcakes

Granny Nora Turns 90!

Sep10

Granny Figurine & Flower CupcakesGranny Figurine & Flower Cupcakes

Granny Nora turned a grand 90 last week and I was excited when Tracy asked me to make this cake and these cupcakes for her mom-in-law’s 90th birthday.  I had a few pictures of Granny Nora to inspire my figurine for this cake and I needed to capture the petite and pretty woman in the photo for the cake and then portray her love for flowers on the matching cupcakes.  This miniature sugar paste granny turned out almost whimsical on her cake and I crafted her in a pretty hand-painted floral dress with her glasses as she writes the poetry that she so dearly loves to write for family and friends. She is sitting daintily on a white covered cake that I gently embossed with an intricate pattern and stamped with a quote.

Granny Figurine & Flower Cupcakes

The flowers for the cupcakes were just as exciting as I had carte blanche as to what flowers I made as long as they were in shades of soft pink and some of the cupcakes included 90’s to mark the special celebration.  A garden of pink and lavender flowers grew from the sugar paste including delicate roses, open roses, fun pink daisies, hydrangeas, orchids, pansies and lillies and they gracefully surrounded the sugar paste Nora to quietly marvel at her amazing 90 years! I was so chuffed to hear that this tiny sugar figurine was as much the most photographed person as was Granny Nora at her celebration. Congratulations Granny Nora for celebrating your 90 years with your family and friends & your sweet additions in such style.

Granny Figurine & Flower CupcakesGranny Figurine & Flower CupcakesGranny Figurine & Flower Cupcakes

Lighthouse Cake for my Dad’s 80th Birthday

Aug16

Lighthouse CakeMy dad turned 80 last week and we celebrated with family and friends in Durban on a beautiful spring day.  I had the privilege of making my dad’s birthday cake and I knew I wanted to include his passion for the beach and the sea in this cake. I started with a boardwalk sugar paste board and then added the first layer, a chocolate fudge cake, which I painted in shades of blue and white for the sea. The stamped images portray my dad’s passion for boats and everything nautical.

The second tier represents the sand on which my dad spent so many hours playing sandcastles with us his children and now his grandchildren. I chose a salted caramel flavoured cake for this tier. I had the waves gently kissing the 2nd tier and added wooden sugar paste posts to represent the many hours spent walking along the Umhlanga boardwalk. Finally the lighthouse nestled in the chocolate rocks was the most important as my dad has always been and will always be an inspirational beacon in all our lives and the lighthouse represents his guidance, help and protection in our lives. I asked my niece and nephew to add their creations to the cake and Tanith made a beautiful seagull and Roarke made a golden beach ball. A sugar paste life buoy, rope, sea shells and miniature beaded bubbles were the final inspiration for the most incredible dad! I was touched by how much my dad loved his cake and he became quite protective over it when it came time to cut and share his beautiful cake.

Lighthouse Cake

Lighthouse Cake

Happy 80th Birthday Dad! I love you!

 

Blue & Peach Cupcakes

Aug2

Blue & Peach Cupcakes Blue & Peach Cupcakes1Jenny celebrated a family birthday lunch and ordered cupcakes from me as part of her decoration for the table.  She chose blue and peach as the colour scheme and then asked me to do a variety of cupcakes and include the ages of the guests celebrating their birthdays.  I loved doing these sugar paste blue and peach butterflies and used a mould for the funky leaves that I added for variety.

Blue & Peach CupcakesBlue & Peach Cupcakes

Wedding Cake for Elize & Alan

Jun22

Peggy Porschen inspired Wedding Cake

When Elize and Alan first asked me to make their wedding cake I was really nervous as I had not before undertaken a 3 tier wedding cake let alone did I have the first clue about making sugar flowers for a wedding cake.  They knew they wanted a tiered wedding cake with a cascade of flowers, hearts and doves.  The initial pictures they showed me were a little old fashioned and not exciting enough for this brilliant couple so I suggested one of Peggy Porschen’s cakes from her Cakes In Bloom book.  Both Elize and Alan were excited about the cake I showed them and asked for a few colour and flower changes and the addition of doves and hearts as they were to be part of the theme of their beautifully planned wedding.  All that was left to me was to learn how to make sugar flowers which I did with the help of my wonderful friend and teacher Pat of Cakes by Pat and with the help of the step by step instructions in Peggy’s book.

The pictures in the collages below show my packing on the day of the wedding with everything ready to take to the venue to set up this floral cake.

Peggy Porschen inspired Wedding Cake

I was so delighted with how this cake finally came together after many hours of patient flower making and I had such a sense of pride in creating my first wedding cake of this size and with these detailed flowers.  Elize and Alan were so delighted with their cake and I will include a blog with photos of them cutting their cake taken by their awesome wedding photographer. Everyone commented on how real the flowers looked and how delicious the cake tasted and this was the best compliment to me.  I am so grateful to Elize and Alan for trusting me with their cake and I am so privileged to know such a loving and beautiful couple and to have had the chance to create something beautiful to add to their special day.
Peggy Porschen inspired Wedding Cake

Peggy Porschen inspired Wedding Cake