Comics cake

I have to say I had more fun making this cake than I let on. Making the different logos was highly entertaining, and it was nice to have such a bold colour to work on, rather than having a white canvas to attack! Only now do I realise that Batman is not marvel, but decided that instead of a "Marvel cake" it is simply a "comics cake"! 

Marshmallows!

Making marshmallows was certainly quite a bizarre experience, seeing as i'd grown up just buying them. I never even considered that I might one day be able to make them! I have to say, after a first attempt, I was pretty happy with how they turned out, although I have to say, they are perhaps a little on the large side :) 

Champagne bottle cake

For another 21st, there comes an element of tradition to give something Champagne related, as one comes "Of age", so this cake seemed like a suitable suggestion. However much fun the marshmallows were to put on the cake to mimic ice, I cant imagine how they looked after being taken all the way to Southampton. Oh well, I hope it was enjoyed, regardless of its slightly out of the ordinary appearance :) 

Tangled tower cake

For a sister's 21st, there comes a few challenges as to what the cake should be themed on. However, seeing as my sister isnt much of a drinker, and not necessarily all that into handbags, I had to think of something personal and original. After some thought, we came to the realization that there was no other way to go but disney, and what better to theme the cake on than the almighty "Tangled". Despite the traumas and difficulties, it was reasonably fun to make and my sisters reaction made the whole thing worthwhile! Love you Gracie! 

Cupcakes for a History Lesson

The last lesson of a day at school is tough. Everyone is tired, wanting to go home and not really concentrating. However, in one week, I have 3 history lessons with all of them being last lesson. So, in order to soften the blow for everyone, I thought I would make some cupcakes and see if it would work as a sort of bribe... I dont know if it worked necessarily, but I think they were appreciate all the same, despite the questions as to why flowers were sitting on blue icing! Ah well, you win some, you lose some, I guess :)

Christmas ice-cream cone cupcakes

Having been given several Christmas/winter themed cutters, we really wanted to make use of them during this festive time. So, we collaborated them all together and gave some flat-bottomed ice-cream cones a Christmassy touch. For these, I have to thank my brother Alex (The three leaf holly leaves and the snowflakes) and Sam (The individual holly leaves). Cant wait to use them again in the future! However my fondant plunger collection is getting pretty extensive :) 

Hello Kitty cake

 Having never done a cake that was particularly a child's cake, we were quite excited about this one. A simple concept: Hello Kitty. Along with the concept came the plea for as much pink and as much glitter as we could possibly include. So to complement the cake, we bought some glitter dust, not realising that when it said "Adable glitter" it didnt mean that the glitter was edible, just that was the name of the company. It was not supposed to be consumed in large amounts. However, thankfully it could be used sparingly, so we just added little amounts to some of the flowers around the edges. Like one of my previous cakes, "Cheesy but sweet" :) 

Guitar themed cake

With this cake, we felt a little bit of pressure to make the cake decoration decent, as we were given the cake in the first place. So, with no guarantee of what the cake would taste like, we had to make sure our decorations were simple but effective with the cake we were given. As impressive as the staves on the side look, they were not exactly simple, so we thought we would balance the complexity with the simpleness of the spread out notes on the adjacent sides. Also, along with this cake, came the catastrophe of writing 18th birthday when it was for a 21st, with black royal icing on white fondant. Thank goodness it wiped of cleanly :/ 

Hamburger cake

Considering that it was my brother's 18th, we wanted to make him another cake that was particularly descriptive of him. He LOVES his food and burgers are something which he has loved since the start, so we had some serious fun designing and decorating this one. With the yellow icing looking like real cheese and the tomatoes so red, we loved this at the end. Im thoroughly looking forward to making this one again thats for sure! 

Spain flag cake

It being almost exactly a year since i made my first proper fondanted (is that a word?!?!) cake, I thought it would be good to make my brother a birthday party cake that would look effective throughout the party. As the party was Spanish-themed, we thought a flag would be apt and even though the emblem was tricky, it was worth it! Next time, perhaps sharpening off the edges would be better... Ah well, always keen for improvements! 

Guide dog charity cake

I was honoured to be able to make a cake for a coffee morning for a guide dogs charity, so we thought about what sort of dog to try and make with fondant. Dogs are hard to do, but I felt I'd had some practice with the gromit from my previous cake. Overall, it was great to make it and I was thrilled to hear that it raised around 200 pounds when they raffled the cake! Although making fondant figures can be frustrating, it is certainly becoming something I thoroughly enjoy! 

Gromit and Shaun the sheep cake!

With a love for Gromit and Shaun the sheep, I was happy to be given a concept for this cake that was simple but looked effective! I thoroughly enjoyed making all the little models of the animals and the piping, and love the arrangement of colours, although we thought it a little weird that when we first did the grass, it was lighter than the base, and yet now its darker! 

A bouquet of flowers

At my church, we hold a woman's event event every couple of months for the women of the community to just relax, hear a bit about women in the bible or things that the bible has to say about women. Its an amazing evening, and throughout it, the women have a wide selection of cakes, brownies and other really nice desserts available to them. However, this time, they decided to have a cake which would act as a raffle prize and one of the ladies would win it at the end, and so I was asked to make said cake. Although it may seem like a lot of icing, it is very fun to do and extremely pretty to look at! Thanks to my mum for helping particularly with this one though, definitely a two person job! 

Autumn cake

As we draw nearer to winter and have to close the doors of summer, we get the stunning colours of Autumn and I love the amazing combination of leaves and stalks that the beautiful season brings! Therefore, I loved the chance to be let loose on my paint and go mental with colour! I certainly love this type of cake!

Tottenham Hotspur cake

What a tough cake this was. I can certainly say that making scarves is not my favourite thing! Through excitement to make my first cake of the new academic year, and the fun concept of another football team, we mistakenly overlooked the complexity of this cake. So, when we had made the scarf and everything else was done, we ventured into the task of placing it on the cake, at which point everything collapsed. However, after some much-needed repair, the cake eventually came to a hopefully presentable one.

Rosie :)

Fruits in the forest cake!

Although Nigella Lawson may be my favourite, Lorraine Pascale has to come close behind, and I thought I would FINALLY do this cake, as I've admired it for quite some time. This particular cake is slightly different, as it is a red velvet cake with creme cheese frosting and all sorts of berries, but the concept is originally hers and I give her all the credit! And although it used a lot of the chocolate swirls, there were enough left for us to  gratefully munch on!

Cheesy but sweet!

A cake, that at a first glance, may seem extremely cheesy, but upon reflection, might be concluded to be relevant. When asked to make an anniversary cake for the combination of two anniversaries, I decided that it would not necessarily be so awful if I made it cheesy, so with all the colours and hearts, it truly looks like an anniversary cake. And also, I have to thank my mum and sister for cheesy creative input in this one!

Island cake

I absolutely loved decorating this one, as there was loads of room for creative input! With a simple concept, a lot can be imagined, so I was glad to be able to run free and be completely creative with this cake! Although there was some difficulty when it came to the palm tree and how it would be held up, a little bit of wire and a cocktail stick helped to solve said problem!

Marshmallow icing!

To continue with my obsession with all things baked or torched, I decided that I needed to include something that I love, which is even better when torched. Marshmallows. So, we made marshmallow icing to go on top of these oreo based cupcakes, and then set the marshmallow alight with my blow torch. I have to say, it was jolly good fun, although this particular icing is certainly not at its best, the day after. 

The very hungry caterpillar cake

A story loved by many, and a story which I certainly loved the idea of making into a cake. A friend of ours was leaving from running a club for children after 30 years, so I was asked to make a cake for the occasion. This cake was so fun to make, as we could run wild with imagination and mixing the random colours together. I have to say, though, that my favourite part was making holes within the food that he had eaten!