Monday, May 23, 2011

Graduation Cake



Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Simple Birthday


I was asked to do a birthday cake for a family gathering that would be celebrating their May birthdays.  I was told the cake would be for kids-boys and girls- and adults, and I wasn't given much direction on how to make the cake other than that.  So I decided to make something simple that reminded me of a cute birthday card.  It felt SO good to design this cake myself and not have to worry about making it look exactly like "something".  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Leavitt Group Cake


I got an order to do a birthday cake for my husband's boss, Dane Leavitt (CEO of The Leavitt Group).  My husband and Dane's secretary designed it- they wanted to display things that Dane loves.  We decided to put the new Leavitt Group logo on the top.


This is the Leavitt Group sign outside of Headquarters.

  And this is my edible rendition of it.


One thing Dane loves is going to his cabin and ride his Polaris Ranger.   These mountains are the view he has from his cabin.

And this is the fondant version of the mountains that my husband made. (He stayed up late with me (on our 6th anniversary) to help get the cake done! AND he cleaned up the mess after we were done! What a great husband!)

This is the Polaris Ranger Dane got as a surprise at a company holiday dinner a few years ago.  He was so excited!
+
And this is my version of his cabin that he loves so much.  We've heard many stories of him sitting on the porch for hours on end enjoying the view of the mountains.
..

Even though this cake took 12 hours from start to finish (including breaks and dinner and such) and I was SO ready to be done with it, it was fun to do the tiny details like the marbling on the rocks and the paneling on the front door (that you probably can't even see in the picture).

Unfortunately, this is the last intensely intricate cake I will be able to make for a while... Baby #3 is due in just 6 weeks! 


P.S. This cake is 3 layers- 2 yellow and one chocolate, and filled with super yummy chocolate frosting.  I covered it with buttercream and all the decorations are edible (marshmallow fondant)!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Butterlicious Soft Pretzels


Alright, so it's not a cake, but I made it (from scratch) and I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while.  And I am SO GLAD I did.  I cannot stop eating them (I'm on my 3rd one right now!).

These were so delicious and easy to make.  They browned beautifully and after they got out of the oven, they took a swim in melted butter. Oh, and that chunky kosher salt adds that perfect pretzel saltiness!  YUM!

If anybody wants me to make them some then I can figure out a price- somewhere around $10 for a dozen... or less.  We'll see.


 I think I'm ready for pretzel #4 now... Hey, I'm pregnant, I can justify it.  Right? :)


If you want the recipe, I got it here.