(Spoiler Alert!) Here's to the Bride

Yes, don't look if you don't want to know what I've been working on this week!

I just can't leave this one alone. 

I've had these lovelies on my drying rack for a while now...still a bit of wet "paint" before their final dusting of color.

Bake Lore sugar flowers drying...just a small peek at the
original topper debuting on Saturday

This is a sneek peek of one really unique, gorgeous cake topper.  Can you tell I'm excited about this one?

Let me tell you, though, it's not just about the flowers.  It's about the bride.

I met this amazing woman when I moved home from a few years of east-coast insanity.  Talk about beautiful, inside and out.  You become fast friends with the people who are walking with you through times of extreme change, and this lady was part of the whirlwind of life that surrounded me when I got married. 

Partnered with her equally awesome best friend (who I hope will get her own Bake Lore post one of these days), she threw me a beautiful wedding shower and helped make my wedding invitations.  She was a charter member of a briefly convened group we called "The Hot Mammas Club," and she helped me, on more than one occasion, survive my incredible propensity to get lost WHEREVER I GO. 

She's gonna marry a hunk of Latino preacher this weekend, and I couldn't be happier for her.  She's made me wait a long time to enjoy blessing her a little bit in the same way she has blessed me.

Here's to you and all the Hot Mammas out there - love and miss you all!

Te Amo!

Anyone who follows this blog regularly knows that when I am silent for a few days, it's because I have a consuming project (or five) to work on.

I've been going back and forth in my mind over the past few weeks about what I thought was an overwhelming schedule for this summer.  Many factors combined to lead me to the place where I was overwhelmed at the stack of orders I had for the wedding season, and my sanity demanded that I stop shopping for new orders.  I even turned down an order:(. 

I really just thought I had too much to do already, and couldn't do it justice.  One thing I never want is a sub-par cake with a Bake Lore card in front of it. 

But here I am, halfway through what I thought was a crazy-busy season, and I find I am handling it all just fine.  In fact, I kind of wish I had a few more orders. 

Live and learn.  That's what this whole process is about. 

In the meantime, I am happily working away on a gum paste topper for a bridal shower cake.  I'm giving you a sneak peak here...it's going to be great!

Arranging and Maybe Giving Away...

It's one thing to make a pretty flower. 

It's another thing altogether to put it next to other flowers in a way that doesn't look like a Victorian nightmare.

My preference is always simple.  I like uncomplicated florals that hold up the beauty of one or two blooms, with plenty of room for air and light. 

My concept for the cake I'm working on now is to do something like this on top (plus a splash of green here and there):

Then at the base of the tiers, I want to group a few flowers together, a little like this:

I realize I'm a baker, not a florist, and I have an untrained eye.  All I know is what I like and what looks beautiful to me.  I'm usually a pretty harsh critic of my own work.  So I figure if I like it, that's a pretty good sign I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of the right track. 

Speaking of flowers...it might be time for another promo here at Bake Lore.  Anyone in the mood to win some handmade sugar flowers of their very own?

New Rose

I am sorely tempted to sit around my house, dwelling on my disappointment.  I'm missing a bridal show I had hoped to do today. 

I find it difficult to mope, however, when I am having so much fun. 

Besides the peacock feathers I showed you yesterday, which improve with every new attempt, I thought I'd try some new gum paste cutters I got some time ago and see if they lent themselves well to making a peony.

I failed in that endeavor. 

However, in place of the peony I expected, a gorgeous rose appeared!  It's not the usual tight little bloom I'm used to producing.  This is some other wild variety, but I love it.  It's big, it's full and it bears those peacock colors beautifully.

There's so much more you can do to add color and life to a sugar flower with a paintbrush.  Most often, I add the color to the gum paste and work it in well before I start forming petals, but this time, I left it white, and added layers of purple, blue and green as it dried.  The result is like holding a water color painting in your hand.  I love the effect. 

Usually, my roses look like this:

But the new rose I stumbled upon is somehow messier and less formal, like a medieval maiden.  I like them both, and they'll each serve to make a totally different kind of cake just what it should be. 

Peacock Prototype

I have an exciting project for this summer: a steam punk wedding cake.  This is a cultural phenomenon that has produced some really elaborate, detailed art - from fashion to food. 

I'm excited to get a taste for this eclectic mix of Victorian garb and old-timey machinery.

I'm also excited to try my hand at some totally new techniques and create a truly unique cake for this couple.  So, even though it's months away, I have been experimenting. 

Gum paste flowers are one of my specialties, and I love making them.  Gum paste feathers, however, are much more of a challenge.  They aren't just thin, they're whispy, ephemeral.  That makes them a lot harder to mimick with sugar, which makes them a lot more FUN to try!

My first prototype looked a little...emaciated...and, well, just not right.  But I stand by my concept.  The form is there, the execution, not so much.

Is it a gaseous flame?  Is it the skeletal remains of a Star Trek alien?

But, round two has proven to be much more rewarding.  I think this is starting to look pretty cool!  And from a distance, the effect is much more convincing. 

Oh my gosh!  It's a peacock feather! 
I got that the first time.  I really did.  Promise.

This is basically a whole lot of thin, white floral wire, twisted and snipped into shape, and the center is of course gumpaste.  I used a leaf cutter, trimmed and shaped it and then added lots more wire to the top.  the color is all painted on, a mixutre of a little gel food color and a tiny splash of rum.  Yes, cake decorators paint with liquor - but don't worry, it's not enough to enjoy:). 

I'm going to keep working on this, but I wanted to share my progress.  What fun!

AmbuLANCE!

What a week it has been!  I was sworn to secrecy on this latest cake until today so as not to spoil the surprise.  But at long last, I have some fresh pictures for you.

This is buttery yellow cake and vanilla butter cream.  The fireman/emt figure is marzipan and the ambulance is cereal treat and gumpaste. 

Here's a little close up...

Marzipan is fun to work with, although significantly stickier than gum paste.  I'll definitely be using that medium again. 

Hope you enjoyed this fun cake - and congratulations to C.J., who has graduated from nursing school and is now the very best fireman/emt/nurse you could ever hope to have rescue you from anything that might be on fire or bleeding:). 

Spice Cake Pumpkin...not Pumpkin Spice Cake

Sometimes elaborate details are the last thing a cake needs.  Sometimes it's just perfect with a few, simple embelishments.

I realized as I was about to pipe a jack-o-lantern face on this October Special pumpkin cake that I was about to ruin it's simple beauty. 

Less is more.  This cake said "Hey!  I'm done!"  And it was right:).

October may be my favorite month of the entire calendar year.  The cool temperatures return, the colors of the leaves and the promise of many cozy, cold months ahead.  I know, I'm crazy.  But if you were as pale as me, you wouldn't be too keen on direct sunlight and warm temperatures.  I'm just sayin.

And, October has the added bonus of being the month when I'm allowed to start watching White Christmas again!  I'm going to try to hold out until after Halloween - or Reformation Day, as I prefer to think of it - but I promise nothing. 

A little gum paste ivy and leaf work

In this my most favorite month, I'm happy that someone took me up on the little special, and I hope this four layer spice cake with cream cheese butter cream helps keep the party it' going to festive.  Happy eating!

The Fender Stratocaster - - of Cake

Once again, I find myself at the end of a huge project with very few words...so I'll share with you the pictures of one of the best cakes I've created to date.

Here's the guitar-lover's rock-star cake.  The Fender Stratocaster, a la Bake Lore, 100% hand crafted from the tone knobs to the pickups and tuners:

That's my model - my old strat from college, and a great instrument!

My Dad, the best guitar player I know, and I know quite a few.
I was pretty much in cake heaven when he was so happy with the final product.

So that's it!  The whole thing is made out of gumpaste, cereal treat, fondant - and of course, cake and butter cream.  There are only small bits of cardboard and floral wire holding things in place, but otherwise, you could eat the whole thing! 

Happy Birthday to one very lucky little boy!

Zambia, A Country in Cake

Well, for those who read my post a week or so ago, you know I've been working on a HUGE cake for a church group sending a family on a year of mission work in Africa.  Specifically, this stalwart team is heading to Zambia.

To celebrate, they commissioned me to make it out of cake.  And let me tell you - what fun, and what WORK!  The baking alone was a momentus undertaking, then the icing the filling the carving the crumbcoating and the decorating and delivering...I earned every penny!

Here it is in all it's glory!  "Cake for 100, Alex..."
"Made out of yellow and chocolate cake, his African country can feed a huge crowd". 
"What is...

ZAMBIA!"

My Patterns

West Zambia...in buttery yellow cake

East Zambia...in chocolate cake...with the colors of the flag almost complete

The finished product!

My apologies...I'm sure you see the smudge...

It wasn't until I was home reviewing my poor photography skills that I learned there had been a small smudge of green butter cream on the camera lense.  I'm hoping someone will take pity on me and send me another, icing-free picture, but until then...these will do!  Enjoy!

It's Training Season...So They Tell Me...

I'm in the middle of a number of cake projects - and even one enormous cookie project!  And I can't wait to share those with you. 

But until I am finished, I wanted to show you a Bake Lore archive cake - in the spirit of all the pro football training camps going on across the country.

I am no football fan, but I do make a darn good football cake.  If you are a Colts fan, my apologies, or Bears or Green Bay or whatever - - this is a cake I made for a Steelers fan.  I hope you enjoy!

Logo is in gum paste with piped royal icing

Oh yes...that's the Terrible Towel...in gum paste, of course!

This one was made up of:
10" tier: Chocolate cake, vanilla butter cream
6" tier: White cake, vanilla butter cream
Fondant icing, royal icing piping and gumpaste cut outs

Custom Cake Topper

I finished the gum paste garden last night.

And that means I even finished the custom cake topper that will adorn six tiers of gorgeous in about a week and a half. 

"G" is for "Gum Paste!"
Red Gum Paste Cake Topper

Blessings on your soon-to-be-married heads Mr. and Mrs. G!

The #1 Engine for the #3 Birthday

Well, I finished it!  Here it is, in all it's glory...

Now...time to go to sleep and prepare myself for a birthday party!

Sneek Peak: Andrew's 3rd Birthday Cake

Andrew, my one and only, precious and precocious son will be three entire years old on Monday.

I've heard so many mothers say, "the days are long, but the years are short."  So true.

I love him more than ever, and I love that we are really learning who he is inside, since he is finally able to communicate and converse like the little person he is!

There's no question about his likes and dislikes.  "Mommy, I like yellow."  "Mommy, I doesn't like celery."  And nine hundred times a day "Mommy, I watch Thomas and the Misty Island???"  The kid loves him a talking train.

So what do I have planned this year?  Dunno...maybe you recognize this friendly and very useful face...

A Very Useful Gum Paste Engine

Keep coming back to see just how this gum paste face is going to fit into the big picture!

Twoo Wuv! and a Cake Tasting

Tonight, I did something I've never done before.  I held a cake tasting.

My good friend, Scotty G., is getting married.  This outstanding man has finally "found his Eve," as he once so longingly put it, and I am THRILLED!

Ak!  They are so stinkin' cute!!!

Can I say that again?  I am THRILLED!  First, because Scott is a great and godly man.  Second, because his matrimonial felicity has been high on my "please, God" list for a long, long time.  And third, because now that I know his bride-to-be, I see why he's in love with her - she's great.

I let them taste three flavors, lemon, almond and chocolate.  Oh, I tell ya, I had a good time getting this ready for them.

That's four plates of yum.

This is almost as cute as Scott and Krista:).

Practice, practice, practice!

We also designed their wedding cake, which it will be my honor to create.  It's going to be epic...like six tiers kind of epic...like a garden of gum paste flowers kind of epic. 

So, I have my work cut out for me.  They picked the lemon cake, which is hands down the favorite flavor I make.  But the baking isn't going to be the fun part of this cake.  It's going to be the many fun-filled hours I will spend creating flowers and praying for them - for a long and joyful marriage, for a house full of happy children, for lives that bring more glory to God together than they ever would apart.

How sweet it is!

Over the Hill...and Moving on Up!

I have had a GREAT cake week!

I'm making progress on legitimizing my would-be bakery.  I have a spot reserved for ServSafe food handling certification in May, and I'm working on finding some rental kitchen space somewhere.  Slap a tax ID on that and you have yourself a business baby!  Yeeeeah!

Losing that iris cake was a bummer, but it got me on the right track.  I know what has to be done to keep this going, and I'm gonna do it.  It feels like I'm laying the foundation for my future...and in the meantime, I'm still making cakes for friends and friends of friends.

Here's my latest...a classic "over the hill" theme for my friend Heather.

I know, I know...another video!  I flatter myself I'm quite the technological genius, aha....

So, this one is an 8" white cake...vanilla, with real vanilla buttercream and the little dude is of course a gum paste original.  (The top is actually styrofoam, since the party this cake is going to won't have millions of people.)  I love working with this stuff.  And the best part is, it's not a trinket you have to keep and dust forever.  It's art...then it's food. 

No clutter, no obligation to save it.  But there's a definite obligation to EAT it.  Cuz...it's cake.  And it's awesome.

Iris 360!

So, I was patient and waited until the gum paste was completely set before attempting assembly.  (I've learned the hard way that gum paste just will not be rushed.)

And, impressively, I learned to use the video button on my gadget phone, and here for your viewing pleasure, I present Amy's First Iris: The 360 Panoramic Experience of Awesomeness! 

 

Did I oversell that just a bit?  ;)

Next time I'm going to be able to get the petals a little closer together, and hopefully have the final color scheme down.  I just added some white luster dust to each petal, but I'd like to do a little more with it.  

Gotta say though, I'm really happy with this as my first try.  I'd be thrilled if there were a swag of these puppies on my wedding cake - or my birthday cake - or my hey-it's-Tuesday cake.  I make all of those by the way, any size ya want;).

Lilies - Check. Roses - Check. Irises - Lookin' Good!

As wedding season approaches, I find myself happily entrenched in new projects.  New cake pans and petal cutters arrive every few days, and my wallet is full of coupons for the cake isle at JoAnn's.

I was absolutely giddy when my iris cutter arrived in the mail the other day.  I've just completed the first step in constructing my iris - cutting, veining and thinning each of the nine petals, and they are drying nicely in my kitchen. 

These are the larger, lower petals.

It's easy to get lost in the details of creating a flower from gum paste.  But when the individual pieces come together and you finally see the finished product, it's delightfully satisfying.  I hope you enjoy these first few snapshots of my petals.  They appear much more blue than they really are...in my hand they are a lovely, rich purple.

I hope to get a more delicate look in future specimens, but I'm very pleased with how these first few have turned out.  Tomorrow I'll be able to dust the petals and bind them up with floral tape for the finished product.  Can't WAIT!

Mine will not be "bearded" - but this is the general idea.