*Setting Sail*

Bon Voyage Cake:

3 layer, half-sheet vanilla red and blue "funfetti"cake with vanilla buttercream, covered in blue fondant, decorated with fondant Union Jack flag, QE2 ship, passports, airmail and suitcases around the border and blue waves with luster dust on the corners

A friend of mine is shipping off to London for grad school this Fall, so I made this cake for her going away party.  It was to feed upwards of 70 people, so it had to be big, but amnesia seems to be getting the better of me when it comes time to deliver and carry these kinds of cakes! Luckily, there were no mishaps and the cake made it to the table without my having dropped it after carrying it from 5 houses down.  

Although she requested vanilla/vanilla for the cake, I was thrilled when she asked if I could do it "funfetti" style, so in going with the theme, I added red and blue Jimmies to the cake batter.  But this was a cake for a good friend, so I had to up the ante, so I proceeded to split the batter into two bowls, adding red food coloring to one and blue to the other and swirling them together in the baking pans. I so wish I had taken a picture of the insides of the cake for you to see! Oh, well, next time!

And yes, true to form, luster dust found it's way onto several pieces-the flag was lightly dusted with pearl, the waves were brushed with blue and periwinkle,  and I painted the passports and the ships accents with liquid gold and silver luster dust (gold/silver luster dust and vodka). It's just not a proper cake without some sparkle!

My next project will be to tackle gum paste, that QE2 replica ship was in fact solid fondant and weighed a ton, so much so that I was afraid to place it on the cake before arriving, for fear it would turn into a reenactment of the Titanic! 

I was so happy to do this for her and so thankful she loved the cake. There's nothing better than a homemade gift, especially one that requires utensils! 

Bon Voyage!

*Little Orphan Annie & Her Dog Sandy*

Annie & Sandy Cupcakes- Rainbow "Funfetti" cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting decorated with chocolate balls and sugar fondant with food coloring pen

Annie was the first Broadway musical I saw in San Francisco when I was a kid as it rolled through 'The City' during it's nationwide tour. It's always been a favorite of mine, and I was thrilled to find out our local children's theater group would be putting it on as their Summer show.

Although these performances boast loads of former students, and it's a blast to see them grow up on stage from show to show, one family in particular have always been kind enough to invite me to a performance every season.  Typically, I would arrive with an armful of those plush fabric daisies, the kind you can get at a grocery store or stationary store for the girls as a gift. But as I had been coming to these performances for over 2 years, I figured it was time for me to change it up.

I knew they liked cupcakes because their mom had asked me to make them for the oldest (and my former student) for her birthday last year.  Sadly, I didn't take pictures so they're not here, but they were Red Velvet cupcakes decorated with High School Musical picks.  So I thought cupcakes would be easy enough to transport to the theater.  And having recently purchased a really great cupcake book called Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson, I was inspired to make a companion Sandy cupcake for the Annie cupcakes.

Although they didn't turn out exactly like the dog cupcakes on the cover, the directions and pictures were extremely helpful and I found the process to be a lot of fun.  

Unfortunately, as the daytime performance went on (and it was a delightful show with loads of smiling, familiar faces!) the theater began to heat up and the cupcakes looked a little disheveled by the time I saw the family afterwards.  They still loved them and started showing them off to other parents from the show, and thanks to that impromptu free advertising, I may have a chance to put a treat or two up on their auction block for their upcoming season!  And although they didn't look pristine at the end of the performance, at least here they are saved for posterity as they looked in my kitchen!

*Bridal Shower in Pink & Brown*

Pink & Brown Bridal Shower Cake- Three-layer, quarter sheet Pink Vanilla "Funfetti" cake with chocolate Jimmies, fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries covered in chocolate fondant decorated with pink and white hearts and polka dots and a pink bow painted with luster dust.

The bride-to-be was having a small get together, so originally it was going to be cupcakes in her wedding theme of pink and brown.  About a week prior to the event, it was changed to a cake which suited me just fine!  All I knew was that I would finally be able to put to use something that came home with me by accident my last visit to the cake supply store-Chocolate Fondant!

 

I had never even known that there was such a thing as chocolate fondant, especially since my history with the traditional sugar fondant (white) was only about 2 years long.  But  a while back I was purchasing a large amount of fondant, and not being careful, ended up coming home with 1 package labeled chocolate fondant.  This stuff is so cool-like a huge hunk of Tootsie Roll! It's very easy to work with, and smells heavenly!

To break up all the brown and pink, I threw in a few hearts and dots in white, all given that special touch of luster dust.  And what was concealed inside was a light, fluffy vanilla cake, tinted pink with chocolate Jimmies to make a "Funfetti" cake in her colors.  (I'm hoping to add a picture of the inside of the cake once it was cut soon, so stay tuned!) The filling was fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries.  I love making fresh whipped cream, until I started this adventure into the kitchen, I never dreamed it would be so simple and yet taste infinitely better than the store bought kind.

I think this is definitely a girly cake, not just for all the pink, the cloud-like fluffiness and the shimmer, but for the instant chocolate aroma that fills the room once you open the box-and what girl doesn't love chocolate!