Bulldozer Cake

Caution!  Everything you see is delicious!

The bulldozer is pound cake, cereal treats and fondant.  The cake is chocolate with chocolate filling.  Yum!!

Rapunzel Cake

Made for a special 5 year old...a two tier chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling.   

Completely decorated with fondant - all edible...all delicious!

Construction Site Cake

This colorful cake was made for a 3 year old's construction party. It's a two tier vanilla cake with strawberry and vanilla buttercream filling. Everything on this cake is edible, including the custom made Digger, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck and Bulldozer.

The safety cone cake topper is made from gumpaste and is completely edible. It stands 6" tall!

The vehicles are made from cereal treats and are covered and decorated in fondant.

The "dirt" is made from brown sugar and cookie crumbles, and the "rocks", "bricks" and "lumber" are made from fondant.

Brachiosaurus Cake

A real technical challenge, but quite fun! This standing Brachiosaurus cake was made for a 4 year old boy's dinosaur party. He requested a realistic, blue, 3D brachiosaurus made from chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream icing. You can read about how this guy was built here.

The Evolution of a Dinosaur Cake!

In taking on a 3D dinosaur cake (or any "standing" animal cake) there is a lot that goes into the cake design, before the cake is even baked! I read information online on how to create leg and neck support using PVC pipes and other items you can find at Home Depot. I didn't want to go that route...I wanted instead to achieve the look of a standing dinosaur in a more creative (and less constructive) way.

First, I started off with a wire hanger, saran wrap, duct tape and 2 pieces of foam board. I shaped the wire hanger into the "neck" of the dinosaur and then taped the base down onto the first piece of foam board. I took the second piece of foam board and cut it in half and glued each half on top of the wire hanger base to make one thick board, with a wire neck coming from the bottom.

(I wish I had a picture of that, but neglected to take one at this stage...)

Next, I tightly wrapped the wire hanger in saran wrap so that no part of the hanger would come in contact with the cake. I covered the foam board in green fondant.

Then I put my cakes (1 10"round on bottom, 2 9" round on top, already filled) right up against the hanger on the board and started carving to shape the dinosaur's back and legs. I used cereal treats to cover the wrapped hanger, making a long neck and head. Next I crumb coated it all in vanilla buttercream.

I used more cereal treats to create a tail and to give more depth to the legs. The birthday boy requested a buttercream iced cake (no fondant) but agreed for fondant facial features. I figured the best way to achieve a clean, realistic face was to use fondant for the skin, eyes and teeth. I shaped and added fondant pieces until I achieved this look...

Then I covered the dinosaur in different shades of blue buttercream and added a piece of black fondant under the belly to give a better appearance to the legs.

I kept playing with the icing and shading until I got the look I wanted. Next I added fondant rocks and bushes and trees to give the illusion that my dinosaur was standing on four legs. You can see my finished Brachiosaurus cake here.

Curious George Cake

This fun cake was made for a 2 year old boy's birthday. The Curious George and Yellow Hat are made from cereal treats and are covered and decorated in fondant. George is about 5-6" tall! The bottom tier is 9" round and the top tier is 8" round chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling and both are covered and decorated in fondant.

Bouquet of Flowers

I've seen this done before and have wanted to try it for a while. I think it's such a great idea for a pretty cake! 6" round chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The "stems" are fondant and the flowers are gumpaste.

Teddy Bear Pumpkin Cake

Made for a special girl's Halloween Birthday Party at Build-A-Bear! I made the teddy bear out of pound cake and it sits on top of a 3 layer 12"round vanilla cake with vanilla pudding filling. The cake is covered in fondant with fondant accents. The pumpkin is made of fondant. Everything on this cake is edible!

How to Make a Teddy Bear Cake

No special cake pans required! Start with 2 loaves of pound cake and carve the head and body from one, arms and legs from the other. Make sure you have a cardboard support under the body.

Next, cover in buttercream...

Now start with clothing...this part may be easier without arms at first.

I attached the pound cake arms and rested them on the legs for support. Then I put the sleeves on and secured to the shirt. This seemed to hold the arms on securely without adding any additional supports. I added fur and details, and here she is cooling in the fridge...

Happy Halloween!

This vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream cake was made and decorated for a Birthday/Halloween party. The birthday girl was adding her own princess figurines to the cake (where the pink icing circles are) to complete the look.

This first picture is of the iced sheet cake (12x18) with my sketch book in the background. I used a toothpick to freehand the design.

And here is the completed cake!

Owl Cake

This cake (chocolate with vanilla buttercream) was made for a boy's first birthday...the party was woodland themed, with a guided nature center tour and animals, including a live owl! The cake topper is an owl, 100% edible, carved from cereal treats and covered in gumpaste, designed to match the party invitation and decor. The main cake is covered in fondant with fondant and gumpaste accents. This picture below includes the "smash cake", covered in buttercream icing with fondant leaves, to complement the main cake and perfect for the birthday boy to dig into and enjoy!

Here is a close-up of the owl, along with the invitation in the background. The coffee mug is there for scale.

Glamour Cake

This cake was made for a Glamour Party! Everything, excluding the feather boa, is edible! Chocolate cake with chocolate filling, covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant with fondant and gumpaste accents.

Princess Tiara Cake

The tiara is made out of gumpaste and candy "pearls". The cake is covered in fondant with fondant, gumpaste and "pearl" decorations.

Navy and Orange Bridal Shower Cake

This was done on an ice cream cake, so periods of a little decorating and then lots of waiting because I had to keep the cake in freezer most of the time. The bride-to-be wanted the wedding colors of navy and orange incorporated in the cake. The bride and veil are fondant, all other decorations are buttercream.

Dora's Map

House, Bridge, Island! Say it with me...

"The Map" is gumpaste, the cake is buttercream with fondant accents. Such a sweet idea for a cake!

Phillies Baseball Stadium Cake (with Phanatic!)

This is a cake of the Phillies baseball stadium, with some special guests. The kids who were celebrating their birthdays were of course, huge Phillies fans, but also fans of Club Penguin, the Littlest Pet Shop and their dogs. So the challenge was to incorporate all of that on one cake! The field is buttercream and brown sugar (sand). The seating is fondant with non pariels (fans) on a base of molded Rice Krispies Treats (RKT). The scoreboard is mostly gumpaste with hand drawings done with food safe markers. Phanatic (the Phillies mascot) is a base of molded RKT covered in gumpaste and royal icing (fur). I included a real pic of the Phanatic for those that are not familiar with this guy. The dogs and penguins are gumpaste. Quite a challenging cake, but a lot of fun to make!

Baby Shower Cake

This cake was made for two friends who already have seven children between them! They are both having girls, and we just had a low-key celebration for them. I decided on this design because it wasn't a typical baby shower...we were celebrating the moms more than the babies. =) Buttercream frosted with fondant accents. The swirls on the top are piped buttercream.

Flower Cakes

I've got tons of cakes to update here, but a few of them were similar in theme so I'll toss them all in one post to save time. I did two birthday cakes and my final Wilton cake...all with flowers!

This one is buttercream frosted with fondant flowers. This is my very first attempt at quilting, and I think it added a nice touch...

This next cake is my final cake from Wilton Gumpaste and Fondant...the cake is covered in fondant and the daisies are gumpaste.

And finally a cake for my mother-in-law who loves flowers...cake is covered and decorated entirely in buttercream. Enjoy!

Fire Truck Cake

2D Fire Truck Cake! I carved the truck from a 12x18 one layer cake...iced in buttercream and decorated with fondant accents.

My First Wilton Class =)

A year and a half after I started decorating cakes I thought it may be a good idea to take an actual class! I learned a lot of tips and tricks from Wilton course 1 and am already signed up for the next series. This is a picture of my final cake from course 1. Decorations are all buttercream.

Pink Birthday Cake

This was made for my niece's 5th birthday. She had a Barbie party, so I made her a tiered pink cake (covered in buttercream) with some green and purple accents. I got her a real Barbie and tied wooden dowels to her feet to use as a cake topper.

Pink Pirate Cake

Decorated this cake during a blackout! Pink buttercream with fondant and gumpaste accents. Poor picture quality because my camera died and there was no way to recharge during the power outage, so I had to use my camera phone.

St. Patricks' Day Cake

This was a two-occasion cake for St. Patrick's Day and a 50th birthday celebration. Found a neat way to represent both occasions on the cake! Covered in vanilla buttercream with fondant and gumpaste accents.

Dump Truck Cake

I feel like every time I complete a cake it becomes my new favorite. The same is true of my latest...this is a dump truck cake. The birthday boy specifically requested that it must be dumping at the top of the cake as well! The truck is made of out rice krispies treats, fondant and gumpaste. The cake is a yellow butter cake frosted in chocolate buttercream. The "sand" is brown sugar and the M&Ms were the special delivery.

Here is a close up of the dump truck...