The Big Reveal – A Jeweled Wedding Cake

Prelude:

My son Don has been best friends with a young man named Brian since they attended St. Anne’s High School together.  Brian – at long last – met his soul-mate (Tiffany) and decided it was time to marry her.  They live out of town now but since all of their friends and family are still in the Windsor area, they decided to have the wedding here…. and that’s where I come in…

“Wishful Thinking”  or “Be Careful What You Ask For

You Just Might Get It!”

Every Pastry Chef dreams of the day a client will give them “carte blanche” and allow them to just let their creative juices flow. To produce a wedding cake that will leave everyone in the room in awe of the masterpiece standing before them, is the ultimate goal.  OR SO WE THINK!!!  Trust me when I say, this was DIFFICULT.

I had a year to decide what I wanted to do and could not make up my mind.  Every idea I played with just didn’t measure up to what I envisioned in my head.  I knew the cake had to be spectacular… when the groom said, he was in charge of the cake and the bride didn’t want to know anything about it, she wanted to be surprised, I knew then and there I was in trouble!!

And then suddenly, in my email “in-box” popped up what I saw as the perfect cake. Craftsy.com – A Jeweled Wedding Cake. Take our on-line course and learn how to make a beautiful jeweled wedding cake with instructor Marina Sousa.  That was it – I had to make this cake!  Marina and all of the instructors on Craftsy encourage you to create your own design but I knew this was the perfect cake for my couple.  Thank you Marina for designing such a beautiful cake!!

Every bit of this cake is hand-made. Every jewel is molded and painted. Every clasp on every broach is painstakingly covered in shiny silver dust.

The detail on this cake is magnificent and I learned so much from this course that I use every time I make a cake creation.  Marina is a gold mine of great ideas and I couldn’t have asked for a better tutor.

I have to thank my daughter-in-law Erin for her help at the last minute to put the finishing touches of silver on the roping around the cake.  I would have been arriving at the same time as my bride and groom if she hadn’t come to my rescue.   Also, a big thank you to one of my former employee’s Sara  for her help with the delivery and set up.  We both stood back and looked at that cake and found it very difficult to walk away.  I think I turned around and went back to that cake at least 10 times.  It was hard to leave it behind.

To Brian and Tiffany – congratulations and thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!!  I enjoyed every creative moment in making this cake.  Next time you are in Windsor – come by – I have the top tier of your cake in my freezer.

Now at long last you have it…… by far, what I feel to be the best Wedding Cake I have ever made!!

Putting the finishing touches on the rope border

Putting the finishing touches on the rope border

 

A close up of the broach and jeweled band

A close up of the broach and jeweled band

 

My Jeweled Wedding Cake

My Jeweled Wedding Cake

 

Time Out For Family

The final project before my great adventure in the ultimate wedding cake was to bake and frost a small cake for my grandson Peter’s little birthday party that we were having that evening.  Peter was celebrating his eighth birthday.  When he was two, three and four years old he spent a lot of time with me in my pastry shop.  He spent endless hours pretending to make his own cake. He learned at a very young age how to attach mixer bowls and operate microwave ovens and how to properly hold a pastry bag.

His mom thought it would be a good idea to let Peter decorate his own birthday cake for his party and I couldn’t have agreed more. So, I set Peter up with bags of frosting and sprinkles and let him go to town while I prepared for delivery of the wedding cake.   He picked up that bag of frosting and began to decorate his cake as if he had been born with a piping bag in his hand.

I asked him if he remembered being at Grandma’s pastry shop and making cakes but unfortunately he had no memory of his time with me there.  I have to admit, I was really hoping he would remember. Those were very precious moments for me and many of my customers came to love seeing Peter behind the pastry case recommending his favourites to everyone who came in.   Here are some pictures of Peter then and now.  A GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY PRECIOUS YOUNG MAN – PETER and TO HIS LITTLE BROTHER SIMON WHO TURNED ONE A FEW DAYS LATER!

Peter was "sampling" the sprinkles while adding them to his cake creation.

Peter was “sampling” the sprinkles while adding them to his cake creation.

Wow, he's intense like his Grandma when it comes to decorating cakes!

Wow, he’s intense like his Grandma when it comes to decorating cakes!

A proud moment - his first decorated cake - made for his Mom

A proud moment – his first decorated cake – made for his Mom

Peter pretending to warm up his ingredients in the microwave

Peter pretending to warm up his ingredients in the microwave

Helping Grandma make pastries for Point West Golf Course - Notice the chocolate on his lips!

Helping Grandma make pastries for Point West Golf Course – Notice the chocolate on his lips!

As any good baker does - Peter always cleaned up when he was done baking

As any good baker does – Peter always cleaned up when he was done baking

Peter- age 8 beginning to decorate his birthday cake

Peter- age 8 beginning to decorate his birthday cake

A boy after my own heart.

A boy after my own heart.

Putting the finishing touches on his cake

Putting the finishing touches on his cake

Peter's Birthday Cake

Peter’s Birthday Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mardi Gras Cake

The third cake due the same day as the wedding cake was commissioned by a long standing customer of mine (Gail). Two of her children have their birthday celebrations on the same day.  There is always a great theme to her parties and she does them up with all the whistles and bells!!

So this year, her theme for Joey and Jane’s birthday party was “Mardi Gras”.  She sent me a design that she liked and asked me to add my own flare to the cake and change the sizing to meet her needs.

I decided to make a “mask” from fondant which required a substantial amount of drying time. Than I hand painted the mask to compliment the design of the cake.  Here is the results.   Happy Birthday Joey and Jane!!

Hand-painted Fondant Mask

Hand-painted Fondant Mask

Mardi Gras Cake

Mardi Gras Cake

 

IPAD Cake

We are now counting down to the big reveal of the awesome wedding cake!  Next in line from the “Happy Feet” cake was the IPAD cake.  My customer doesn’t like fondant so the bottom cake is covered in buttercream frosting and is meant to represent the box that an IPAD comes in.  Notice that the IPAD is complete with the charging attachment. I don’t own one so I had to rely on pictures.  Happy Birthday Jacob.

IPAD CAKE

IPAD CAKE

Happy Feet

As promised the first of four cakes was a “Happy Feet” cake from the movie – you know – those cute little penguins all dancing around and talking like humans – pretty cute if you ask me. Anyway, a new customer (Anna), who’s little boy LOVES penguins and loves the movie HAPPY FEET commissioned me to design and make his cake.  Never wanting to disappoint a little one, here is the design I came up with.  I just received a thank you email from his Mom. Here’s the cake and her email.  Happy 4th Birthday Alessandro!!

Penguins at play.

Penguins at play.

The Igloo

The Igloo

(Anna’s Thank You Email)

Suzanne,

I have been meaning to email you for quite some time, but work has been insanely busy!  I can’t thank you enough for the lovely penguin cake for our 4-yr old.  He absolutely loved it!!  He couldn’t get enough of it that it took me forever to get pictures of him with the cake because he wouldn’t stop looking down at it or trying to grab the penguins (that was the only annoying part – haha!!!).  Honestly, the cake looks fabulous and was exactly what I wanted and it tasted to good! 

Thanks for doing such a great job.  You put a huge smile on all our faces.  I will definitely pass along you business cards to all.

With thanks,
Anna

When It Rains It Pours!

You know that OLD saying “WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS” well that’s what it was like for me the week of the very special wedding cake.  I not only had the wedding cake to make but I also took care of a sick granddaughter,  had my son, daughter-in-law and grandsons stay over for two nights, had a small birthday party for said grandsons (Peter & Simon), babysat the grandchildren while mom and dad attended the wedding and  managed to create four additional custom made cakes. Oh, and I did my usual volunteering at my church.  Hew!!! WHAT A WEEK!!!  Needless to say, these tired old feet were KILLING ME!!  Truth be told I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!

Catching Up

Well, I have to say, that deciding to “blog” on my cake creations requires a bigger commitment than I had anticipated but, I think in the long run it will be worth it.  I don’t really get the opportunity to share my passion with others so this is my chance to do just that.  Stay tuned and I promise to bring you up-to-date. Be sure to watch for the “Wedding Cake” and “Jimmy” adventures in cake decorating!!

Rapunzel’s Tangled Tower Cake

So here it is RAPUNZEL’S TANGLED TOWER CAKE. What a challenge this cake was to make. When I was commissioned to do this, my customer simply asked for a Rapunzel cake from the movie “Tangled”. We agreed that I would “surprise” her with the design – no sketches – no drawings to be submitted for approval – just a budget in mind, the rest was up to me.  I quickly went looking for inspiration on the internet. I can’t say that any one design stood out for me. Searching the web just gave me perspective on the overall design of the cake. I decided to take pictures as I went along so that I could share with others who happen upon my blog but also to remind myself how I did this. No doubt, I will be asked to do it again!!  Enjoy!

This is me trying to get the idea in my head as to how this is going to work and basic dimensions

This is me trying to get the idea in my head as to how this is going to work and basic dimensions

I ended up changing the size to be a bit smaller than my prototype. I didn't want it to be top heavy

I ended up changing the size to be a bit smaller than my prototype. I didn’t want it to be top heavy

I knew I wanted to add the small tower. This is the way I envisioned it.

I knew I wanted to add the small tower. This is the way I envisioned it.

As always, it's important to crumb coat and let the cake set up in the fridge before covering it in fondant

As always, it’s important to crumb coat and let the cake set up in the fridge before covering it in fondant

I cut away an opening in the side of the cake for Rapunzel to look out for her prince.

I cut away an opening in the side of the cake for Rapunzel to look out for her prince.

 

Here's Rapunzel without her long strands of hair. She is two dimensional. Notice the dowel going through the center of the tower - it extends all the way through the bottom cake and into the cake board for stability.

Here’s Rapunzel without her long strands of hair. She is two dimensional. Notice the dowel going through the center of the tower – it extends all the way through the bottom cake and into the cake board for stability.

I decided to add Rice Krispy treats to the under-side of the tower for stability. I coated them with white chocolate and covered it in fondant.

I decided to add Rice Krispy treats to the under-side of the tower for stability. I coated them with white chocolate and covered it in fondant.

Here is the fun part. Putting the finishing touches on the cake.

Here is the fun part. Putting the finishing touches on the cake.

So here's the finished product complete with her long strands of hair, braided and dangling for her prince to come and rescue her.

So here’s the finished product complete with her long strands of hair, braided and dangling for her prince to come and rescue her.

 

I covered small fondant pieces in luster dust to give them a beautiful shine and accentuate the cake a little

I covered small fondant pieces in luster dust to give them a beautiful shine and accentuate the cake a little

"Tangled" Rapunzel's Tower

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the cake. I called my customer and changed the “pickup” to “delivery” as I just could not take a chance that the cake wouldn’t make it. It’s one thing to come up with a design like this – it’s another to be able to transport it. Truth be told, it was nice to see little Lilah’s face when she saw the cake for the first time. Although, her mom was pretty excited as well. I guess, that’s what it’s all about!!! Happy Birthday Lilah!

Thomas the Train Engine Cake

After quickly finishing the zebra cake, I was on to a more elaborate design for a little one’s 3rd birthday.  I made Thomas from fondant three days in advance and waited patiently for him to set up and dry. I cannot take credit for the design. My customer sent me a picture she found on the internet. I try whenever possible to alter the designs and add my own flare to the cake. The original design came from “cookiecoo-cakes.blogspot.com”

Here’s my version of Thomas (along with Percy of course).  Happy Birthday Carter!!

Percy is two dimensional on the front of the cake

Percy is two dimensional on the front of the cake

Thomas sits on top of the track made of fondant - dowels underneath support his weight

Thomas sits on top of the track made of fondant – dowels underneath support his weight

Left side view of the cake

Left side view of the cake
The back of the cake shows the "tunnel" opening that Percy comes through at the front of the cake

The back of the cake shows the “tunnel” opening that Percy comes through at the front of the cake