Raspberry Almond Birthday Cake

15 Sunday Jan 2017

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adult birthday cake idea, almond, homemade marshmallow fondant, raspberry puree filling, sour cream almond cake, Swiss Meringue Buttercream

As much as I enjoy creating themed cakes for kids (and big kids, too :0), I find myself more and more yearning for the design freedom allowed when doing a special occasion cake for an adult….

Without the constraints of a picture or character to box in the design, it’s fun to imagine what I’d want in a special birthday cake for myself and then just go for it.

This one is probably my idea of a “perfect” cake for my tastes. And the fact that I made it for a sweet daughter of a dear friend made it even better…

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The cake is a 4-layer, 8″ almond sour cream filled with homemade raspberry puree mixed into creamy, smooth, light, irresistible Swiss merengue buttercream. (Boy, i just LOVE that stuff….can you tell? I can eat it with a spoon all day…and, I admit, sometimes DO!)

With 4 layers, there’s a lot more filling going on in there…which is always a good thing, right?!

Once I smooth-iced the cake with with more (yummy!) vanilla SMBC, I encrusted the outside with slivered almonds to give that irresistible crunch to every bite. Then I added dollops of creamy buttercream to the top along with fresh raspberries and some more slivered almonds.

I decided it needed some “bling” to really say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”… because even the adults in our lives deserve a special touch (or 2 or 3) on their birthdays.

I made a fondant plaque and covered it with gold edible dust…I was going for an antique-y look, which really came through with the cracked fondant (not entirely planned, but I loved the effect once I brushed it with gold dust).

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Then I added a few suspended stars for fun!

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All in all, my idea of a perfect “adult” special occasion cake….wish I’d get one for my next birthday (Hint, hint, John!)

Hope you had a TERRIFIC birthday, Gina…this one was a real inspiration!!

Knitting-Themed Birthday Cake

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Laurie in Cakes

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homemade marshmallow fondant, knitting themed cake, raspberry mousse, sour cream almond cake, vanilla-bean frosting

I was contacted by the incoming President of a local knitting guild (WRKG–Western Reserve Knitting Guild) to create a cake for a guild birthday party celebration. She wanted a simple half-sheet cake with a few knitting-themed details on top.

The cake is a sour cream almond cake with raspberry mousse filling and vanilla-bean buttercream. The balls of yarn are made by covering little styrofoam balls with fondant extruded using my handy-dandy Walnut Hollow clay extruder. I opted for styrofoam because a ball that size made entirely of fondant would have been too heavy. It took some doing to get them to look realistic, but they turned out cute, I thought.

The knitting needles are wooden skewers painted with edible silver paint with end pieces made of grey fondant. The buttons and letters are also made of homemade marshmallow fondant.

I used the guild’s color scheme of blue and yellow for the fondant details and the buttercream piped swirls and bottom border.

Happy birthday, WRKG! I sure had fun creating your cake!

Poland Graduation Cake

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by Laurie in Cakes

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cream cheese frosting, graduation cake, marshmallow fondant, raspberry mousse, sour cream almond cake

Another graduation cake, this one for a small gathering celebrating a PSHS grad.

This is a 3-layer 8-inch round with chocolate and sour cream almond cake, filled with raspberry mousse and iced with vanilla cream cheese buttercream. I added a fondant cap, stars, and twists in Poland blue and white. The musical notes were made from melting chocolate piped onto waxed paper ahead of time and left to harden before adding to the cake. The letters were also cut from homemade marshmallow fondant.

Valentine White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Pink Fondant Hearts

02 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by Laurie in Cupcakes

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homemade marshmallow fondant, raspberry mousse filling, sour cream almond cake, valentines day cupcake, white chocolate buttercream

These scrumptious white chocolate raspberry cupcakes will show anyone how much you love them….for Valentine’s Day or any day! The sour cream vanilla cake is filled with fresh raspberry mousse and topped with a fluffy swirl of white chocolate buttercream–a TERRIFIC combo! Then they’re topped with sprinkles and a dainty pink fondant heart.

I packaged some up last year for a Valentine treat for the sweeties in my life. Who can resist love in a cup tied with a bow?!

Birthday Celebration Sheet Cake

28 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by Laurie in Cakes

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birthday cake, chocolate mousse filling, double chocolate cake, homemade marshmallow fondant, sour cream almond cake, vanilla-bean frosting

This cake I made for a birthday celebration this past summer for a good friend whose kids were having a combined birthday party. Their mom wanted a festive cake with primary colors, decorated with stripes and circles. It’s a 2-layer, 12×18″ cake that feeds about 65 people, filled with chocolate mousse and buttercream-iced with fondant decorations. Hope you had a happy birthday, Nick and Katie…We sure had fun at your party!!