Converse baby booties

I'm very pleased with my first attempt at a pair of converse booties for the top of my nephew's christening cake.  Take a look -

I was surprised at how quickly I managed to achieve these results.  I thought it would take forever, but it only took about 45 minutes.  I've got a few tweaks to do, but this was a good practice for the real ones with I will do later this week.  I hope my sister-in-law likes them...

Halloween cupcakes

As I have to do some Halloween cupcakes for a friend's party I have been researching recipes and design ideas on the net.  There is so much out, but I have to thank my good friend for pointing this book out to me, A Zombie ate my cupcake.


For great ideas for decorating gruesome cupcakes for any good Halloween party...give it a go!

One down...four to go!!!

I'm actually getting quite good at this cake lark...I've finished the 50th birthday cake with time to spare.  I do think that I am underselling myself slightly.  But how much will people pay for a stylish, handcrafted, delicious, homemade cake?  Answers on a postcard please.  How much would you pay for the cake below?

It's a single tier vanilla sponge with jam and buttercream filling, with no additives (artificial or otherwise).  It is iced with white fondant, and decorated with a pink sugarpaste bow and pink sugarpaste flowers. 

Next...the christening cake and the Halloween carrot cupcakes...

Lot's of things in the oven...and a Paul's Boutique bag

Wow, I can't believe it, I have more orders for the coming weeks.  I've received an order for corporate branded cupcakes, up to six dozen!  I also have a 50th birthday cake and a christening cake for my nephew, plus a Paul's Boutique bag for an 11th bithday.  With Halloween fast approaching I've also got an order for some Halloween cupcakes.

I'm on the lookout for some new recipes for non-dairy cupcakes, as my friend is lactose intolerant.  I know she won't mind as the cupcakes are for her party and she will probably have one anyway, but I want her to be able to enjoy them without the after effects!

For the 50th birthday cake I wanted to try something new, but the lady has asked for a bow cake.  I might do something else, for the practice.  I think I have the bow cake sorted!

My first attempt at a bow cake

My second attempt at a bow cake

OK, so I'd never heard of Paul's Boutique until a lady in my haridresser's asked me for one for her 11 year old daughter's birthday on 14 November.  So I've had to go to my trusty Google...and here it is!!  I've got my work cut out!!!

And then my plan for my nephew's christening cake is to top it with a pair of converse booties!!  So cute...

As well as these cakes I also have to make a Christmas cake for my church fair.  All to be delivered by 12 November!  Help...but on the bright side I have almost completed the bow cake and I'm starting the bootie today so I reckon I can do it.

Louis Vuitton handbag cake

I did it!!!  I managed to create a cake that looked like a Louis Vuitton bag, and the customer was very pleased.  It was quite an achievement.

First I had to bake four cakes (two dark chocolate and two white chocolate) with one tin!!  Equipment is quite expensive, so I have been using what I have.  The cakes turned out very well and I have been using the same recipe for my cupcakes.

Here is the cake un-iced sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream.  This was a very chocolately cake.

I then carved the shape of the bag -

I then had to ice the cake.  My intention was to use white fondant and colour it brown, but that didn't work as the colour did not come out brown enough.  I was advised to use chocolate flavoured fondant which was the exact colour I needed. 

At this point I thought there was no way I was going to make this cake look like a Louis Vuitton bag.  More like a big lump of chocolate on a board!  But someone was expecting it for their birthday celebrations and I couldn't let them down.  So the next thing I did was paint the logos on the cake.  I did this by copying the logos from the Internet and cutting them out in card.  I then used the card as a stencil which I pressed lightly into the fondant to show me where to paint.  This meant that I have to paint the stencilling all at once because once the fondant starts to dry it would crack when I pressed the logo into it.  It took me about three hours to paint all the logos on!!!!  My back was killing me by the end.

So once I'd exhausted myself painting on the logos, I decided to leave the rest until the next day even though that was the delivery day!  I was cutting it fine, but hey, life would be too boring if we didn't take chances!

All that remained was the handles and the decoration of the board (Happy Birthday Chloe).  So bright and early and with a determined attitude I set to work on the handles etc...

and I finished just in time to get it delivered.  It was stressful, but I am glad I did it.  I learnt a lot from doing this cake, and can't wait to do it again.

My next project is my nephew's christening cake for the first week in November so watch this space...