Tag Archives: Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Golden (50th) Anniversary Cake

01 Wednesday Feb 2017

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I had the extreme honor to make this 50th anniversary cake for a friend whose parents were celebrating this golden milestone in their lives…it always brings me pleasure to create special occasion cakes that mean so much to those who get to enjoy them.

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The cake was a 12″x12″ square vanilla bean cake filled and iced with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with buttercream scrolls and dots .

 

The “P” monogram and “50” plaque were made from homemade marshmallow fondant.  I used cutters and pale yellow fondant to cut out the letters and numbers and then painted them with edible gold paint before securing to the fondant plaques with sugar glue.
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In the end, I added a few white sugar pearls to dress it up a bit.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. P, it was an honor to make a cake for such a special occasion!!

Raspberry Almond Birthday Cake

15 Sunday Jan 2017

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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!!

Rustic Fall Wedding Cake

31 Saturday Dec 2016

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I love, LOVE, LOVE this wedding cake!

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Really.

I think the rustic in me comes out when I’m asked to create a one-of-a-kind cake for a very special couple who love simple beauty and charm, but don’t really have a specific idea in mind for their cake.

This is just what I’d design if I were designing my own wedding cake (I actually can’t even remember having a thought about my wedding cake except it was the Christmas season and the colors were green and red–yuk).

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This is a 3-tiered design (12″-9″-6″) with sour cream chocolate cake filled with salted caramel…yum. The icing is Swiss meringue almond buttercream put on with a textured, rustic look.  The flowers are real and match those used at the reception.  I added the raffia border on each tier to pull the whole look together.

 

The groom’s parents were actually hosting a reception in the area after an earlier wedding for the couple on the West Coast.  I heard from the groom’s mother that the cake fit their personalities perfectly (and was delicious to boot :0).

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Congrats to the lovely couple and here’s to a great happily-ever-after!

 

 

Harry Potter Cake W/ Golden Snitch and Wand

28 Monday Mar 2016

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I loved, loved, LOVED making this cake for the daughter of a friend.  It was kind of a last-minute order and I wasn’t sure how much detail I’d be able to add as I had a few other orders already that week, but I ended up getting really into it as the Harry Potter books are definitely favorites around our house and I had lots of brains to pick about details.

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The cake is a 9″ 3-layer sour cream vanilla cake with cookies and cream filling, smooth iced with vanilla-bean Swiss meringue buttercream. The details are all made from homemade marshmallow fondant.

The most challenging part by far was the Golden Snitch (if you’re not into Harry Potter, that’s the golden ball with wings they use to play a popular game called , a competitive sport in the wizarding world of Harry Potter…but of course you all knew that).

I did it by rolling a ball of yellow fondant about 1.5″ in diameter and letting it dry overnight.  I made the wings by covering wooden skewers with more yellow fondant cut to look like feathers. After carefully sticking the wings into the semi-dried ball and getting them positioned, I propped them up and let it all dry for a few days to harden (it took some creative thinking to keep them from drooping down!). When it was finally all dry, I painted the entire thing with edible gold luster paint.

For the wand, I molded chocolate fondant around a chopstick and added details to make it look like Dumbledore’s elder wand (my kids just happened to have a replica that we picked up at Univeral Orlando last year…not exactly the same, but you get the idea).

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The glasses were hand-cut and molded from black fondant which I let dry for a few days. This part was a little tricky, too, as the fondant pieces were so thin.

The Gryffindor scarf I made by laying alternating pieces of red and yellow fondant side-by-side and very gently rolling them together and then cutting to size.  I “fringed” the ends by cutting narrow strips up about 1/2-inch. Somehow I managed not to get a picture of the fridge…duh.

All in all, it was a blast to make.  The only detail I would add if I made it again given more time, is an “HP” written in classic Harry Potter script on the side. Happy birthday, Braiden, it really was a pleasure creating your birthday cake!

 

1st Communion Cakes, Cookies, and Cupcakes

21 Monday Mar 2016

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I made this cake for a daughter of a dear friend for her 1st Communion gathering last Spring. As confirmation and 1st Communion celebrations are being planned with the coming of Easter and Spring, I thought I’d share a few ideas.

This cross-shaped rosette cake is one of my favorites…simple elegance comes to mind whenever I make it.   This cake was sour cream vanilla cake with vanilla-bean Swiss meringue buttercream used to pipe the delicate rosettes.  If you haven’t tried Swiss meringue buttercream, it is not as sweet at traditional buttercream but much more smooth and silky, just perfect for piping rosettes.  And best of all, it tastes heavenly.

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The pink banner was hand cut from homemade marshmallow fondant and left to dry draped over some rolled up paper towels to add the illusion of movement.  there were also a few dozen chocolate cupcakes piped with the same rosette for the dessert table.

 

Here’s another 1st communion cake idea for a smaller gathering. This is an 8″ 3-layer double chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling.  The icing is vanilla-bean with white swirls piped on a smooth-iced buttercream cake. The crosses and lettering are cut from homemade marshmallow fondant.   Simple and elegant.

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I love these  delicate, blush pink cross cookies I made for a little girl’s 1st communion last Spring.  They’re iced with fresh lemon Royal icing and piped with white  dots and swirls.

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Here’s an idea for cupcakes with white chocolate crosses and pale blue buttercream swirls.  And another  1st communion celebration double-layer sheet cake I did a few years ago.  The Royal icing crosses and cornelli lace piping details really dress up an ordinary half-sheet cake.

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It’s always such a treat for me to creat these special sweets for such milestone events. Congrats to all the 1st communion and confirmation candidates out there!