Garth & Tiffany Parke Wedding Cake

Garth&Tiffany-Wedcake 015
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

This cake for Garth and Tiffany Parke I made and delivered to the beautiful  Wyndham Sea Gardens Resort, Pompano Beach, Florida for a wedding ceremony on the beach and reception across the street at the resort. I never thought this would have been one of my most bespoken cakes because of the sugar orchids and hibiscus cascading down the side of the cake. I think I got carried away with the flowers compared to the picture Garth sent me for inspiration. The couple wanted a yellow cake with American butter cream. I made shells using white chocolate and white candy melts, then dust with pearl luster dust. The final touch on the cake was airbrushing cake with pearlized color to give the dewy and shimmery look.

The lovely couple and mother of the bride were very happy with the result. I met Tiffany in December 2009 when I attended the wedding of her sister Tangella, whose wedding cake I also made and was a big hit too.

Dol-fan Cake

Have you ever heard of a “Dol-fan?” Well a Dol-fan is a diehard, win or loose, hands down, supporter of the home team, The Miami Dolphins kind-a-fan. In other words, this is the unofficial name for my nephew, Michael – he is a Dol-fan.

So it was no surprise for his birthday cake he wanted a Miami Dolphins theme cake. A few years ago I made him a Miami Dolphin cake for his birthday and ended up having to make a New York Jets cake for his older brother, Dominic, two months later. I am sure he thought I was going to make a sheet cake and put the Dolphin logo in buttercream on the cake. I surprised him with this cake gift: 

Michael was turning 11, so I placed it above the Dolphin on the helmet. He plays Impact football and his number is five, so the five yards line fell right in place. The Dolphin I drew on sugar paper and coloured with gel food colour. He wanted a chocolate cake, so I made a cake filled with whipped chocolate cream filling and covered with chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream then covered with fondant.  The biggest challenge was stacking and carving the cake; plus making the grill out of gum paste. The grill broke and I had to patch it (forgot to make an extra one) in a number of places – oops!

My sister told me that he said, if his NFL career does not take off he would like to become a baker. Sweet! We have another baker in the family.

Walk good and happy caking!

Jeannie

Christ in Christmas & Happy New Year!

Can you believe it? Today is January 12, 2009 just twelve days since the start of the new year and I am feeling like Christmas flew right by me in a flash. Let me see what I have done over the holiday…I baked cakes; baked more cakes; even more cakes; and still more cakes. Lately I am starting to look like I enjoy eating the cakes I bake. About  five or more pounds heavier plus an inch or two in places that are easily seen. My take on this is…if you bake delicious cakes it should show that you like to eat them too.

Now the cake I really wanted to do for Christmas dinner was the only cake I did not get to bake. Here is a picture of the cake I had for Christmas dinner (picture at right). It was an Buttermilk Yellow sheet cake covered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream (I love this buttercream – butter is the operative word here. Butter, lots of it!!) The figures on the cake I made following one of Lorraine McKay’s tutorial. It was so simple making the Christmas trees and Frosty the Snowman, I could hardly believe I was making them.

I really wanted to make a Coconut Cake with a  Nativity scene on the the cake and the words: “Happy Birthday Jesus!” on it. Well it seems like Frosty got top billing on the Christmas cake. Thank God, it’s Christ who made the “mass” possible. Although Frosty is on the cake, Henry and I made sure we kept Christ in Christmas by our love for Him and how we share it with the people we love and care for. Even if “Jesus” in not on the cake, He is in the right place with us—He is in our hearts!

Happy baking, and walk good ‘till next time.

Jeannie

A Friend – Sugar Character

Last week I got one of Lorraine McKay’s “The Icing on the Cake – Tutorial” to make the female character and was so excited I could hardly wait to download the file. I had to print it three times because my inkjet printer kept on jamming. Spent most of the night doing it and the picture here is what it looks like.  I even made the coffee and toast, plus painted the cup and plate! The hardest part of doing the figure was getting the facial features just right.

I have looked at so many of Lorraine’s tutorial and is just amazed at how talented she is. Her sharing what she knows is such a blessing, because I believe that’s how she gets better at what she does. Aine2, I’m a big fan!

Well, I did not stop with this figure. I made the snowman and Christmas trees! Saturday I made a bunch of carrot cakes and one especially for a friend using another figure I made.  As you will notice, her mouth was not as ladylike as I would have like. The cake I made as a sofa and placed it on a tiled surface (fondant and used a brick impression mat.

My girlfriend loves to invite me over to have tea and crackers and cheese. Here I placed the toast I made, plus a pot of roses because she is an avid gardener. The cake is a carrot cake covered with Swiss Meringue buttercream and white chocolate fondant.

Where are the bees?!

My niece Katherine, yes the owner of the Easy Bake Oven, made it to the Regional of their Spelling Bee. So I made he a yellow cake with daisies and bumble bees covered with Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. She loved it! Taking a closer look at the bees, they look like they could do with some good sleep or tomato juice with bitters, in other words: sleep depraved or drunk!

On the day of the regional, I made her six cupcakes with butter cream and fondant flowers, but not bees. Of course the question was asked,
"Auntie Jeannie, where are the bees?!?" Oops! they flew away I wanted to say...pity my dear niece did not know I had to download the "Bee Movie" desktop background to get a very good look at what a bee should look like. Plus Auntie Jeannie's fingers were hurting. Anyway, I later hear how "delicious" the cupcakes were.

I'm so proud of her even though she got knocked out in the fourth round. Her prissy attitude was, "I did my best, but there is next year..." Oooohhhh! Maybe she could help me with my spelling.

Walk good...

Jeannie