I am SO excited to announce a new class series that will be held at the studio of a cake dream!!

I have teamed up with my colleague, Andreea Gerwin and created these fun, fun, FUN classes for you and your little one.  So let me tell you some more.

• Children love arts & crafts
• Children love sweets such as cakes, cookies, etc.
• Children LOVE to play with their food
• Children love to spend some one on one time with their mom or dad

Those were the reasons why we created the ‘Made With Love’ class series.  This is designed for a family member to have some special creative one-on-one time with an adult in their life.  This can be an aunt, uncle, grandparent, parent, godparent, or even a sibling that is over 18.  We want you to have fun and not worry about cleaning up!

Each class includes a craft and a sweet treat for you to take home.  We provide everything including the paper, the paper decorations, and in some cases a little bling is necessary! A cake dream also provides the supplies needed to create your sweet treats.  Here is a preview of the classes we have scheduled so far.

• Teacher’s Gift is my absolute favorite!  Upon arrival, an original picture must be created.  While the two of you work on the accompanying card, I will then take that artwork and create your very own EDIBLE art – Art Cookies.   I will package your three art cookies to give as a gift to your teacher, along with the original artwork, and card.  This is perfect for any teacher as a special thank you!

• Father’s Day was designed for the mother and child to have a special time creating gifts for the dads and grand-dads. The two of you will make and decorate three Father’s Day Cards in the shape of a tie along with decorating three ties made of Rice Krispie Treats.  By making three of each, you have one for dad, and one for each of your grandfathers!

• Celebration Day is perfect for any reason to celebrate!  Whether there is a birthday, anniversary, or holiday – this is perfect!  Create three special cards in a variety of themes such as flowers, clothing, sports, and more AND three matching cookies decorated by you and your little guest.  Everything is ready for you to take home.

We have arranged to offer the ‘Made With Love’ classes at a variety of times – on the weekends and during the weekend, during the day and in the afternoon!  So register here and plan to have a wonderful time with the child in YOUR life!  Invite your friends to join with their children!  Have a playdate!

And most importantly…..have some SWEET FUN!!!

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Golden Wedding Cake by a cake dream NJ

Fondant is the sugar paste or sugar dough that is rolled out and then placed over the cake.  Forgive me for saying this, but it is like a sweet edible Playdoh.  I say Playdoh, because that is kind of how we work with it or play with it.  We squish it up and stick it into molds, roll it out and cut out shapes, hand mold it into figures, or roll it out and cover a cake.  Of course it tastes better than Playdoh…well most do.

Many fancy wedding cakes will be covered in fondant and 99% of the sculpted cakes will be covered in fondant as well.  Why?  Why do we have to use fondant?

Reason #1  The look.  Cakes covered in fondant tend to look ‘polished’, smooth, fancy.  Of course if you have a cake designer that is not good working with fondant, it will NOT look good.  So be careful choosing your designer!

Reason #2  Protection.  Buttercream has grease.  Grease is an enemy of sugar….it breaks it down.  So if you have hundreds of sugar flowers, which took MANY hours to create and you have paid a lot of money for, cascading down a buttercream cake….guess what will slowly happen?

Reason #3  Heat….as I mentioned in the previous post about buttercream, heat is the WORST enemy of buttercream.  Why?  Simple…it will melt!  So if you are having that beautiful summer wedding at the beach or at the country club, and that cake will be outside, you will need to have fondant.  Now here is where I am going to contradict myself.  You CAN have buttercream…the decorators buttecream.  The base is shortening which can reach higher levels of heat before melting compared to butter.  BUT, I would strongly recommend you tasting it first since you will either like it or hate it…I personally don’t think that there is an in-between.  That does not mean that you can let a fondant cake sit out in 90 degree weather for four hours and not expect anything to happen to that cake.  It requires some common sense and trust in your cake designer’s experience.

Reason #4  Protection.  When a 3D cake is created, there is an internal support system keeping everything in place (hopefully!).  If the outside were only covered in buttercream, then the cake might start to slowly fall apart due to movement, heat, etc.  When it is covered in fondant, it holds its shape better, makes everything INSIDE the cake stay safer, for a lack of better words.

Reason #5  Decorations.  If you want a painted cake, you want to paint on fondant.  There are a few people in the cake world that can paint with or on buttercream – they are amazing – but most people cannot since that is truly a gift and mastered skill. Draping, swags, lace, fabric textures, poured sugar elements, and many other decorations will be done on fondant cakes so the buttercream doesn’t break it down or because it sticks better to fondant.  Or it just LOOKS better on fondant.

Reason # 6  Artistic License.  The cake designer might prefer to work with fondant or thinks a design will look better in fondant.  If you have a good designer, then trust his/her opinion on this, please.

Pansy Wedding Cake by a cake dream NJ

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What about the taste?

Umm….okay……well….here is where it can get a little tricky.  I think that most people have a difficult time accepting fondant for two reasons.  The texture and the taste.  The texture of fondant is really like Playdoh.  It can feel chewy in the mouth – sort of like gum or marshmallows. Most people aren’t used to it and will just automatically peel it off without even knowing why they do that.

The taste can be horrible or really yummy.  In other words, there is cheap fondant and expensive fondant.  Bad fondant and good fondant.  Some designers make their own fondant and some buy it.  I don’t think there is a huge debate between the two like there is between cake mix versus scratch.  It is a matter of personal preference.  There is fondant that tastes like vanilla, buttercream, raspberries, tootsie rolls, white chocolate, coffee, mocha, oranges, strawberries, lemon, marshmallows, and then there is fondant that tastes like – oh heck, I can’t even describe it!  All I know is that I will open the container and I just get this strong whiff of chemicals!  There is NO way I will put that on a cake to serve.  Instead, I’ll use it to create display cakes.

Now, some bakers/designers will put a thick layer of fondant over a thin layer of buttercream.  That is when you tend to taste a LOT of fondant and don’t get that yummy buttercream taste that you like.  Ideally, there should be a nice layer of buttercream underneath a thin layer of fondant.  Then you get the best of both worlds or you only have to peel off a little bit of fondant.  This is a skill that takes practice!

Please, please, PLEASE look at pictures of the designers work with fondant!!!   If you order a cake covered in fondant, you will undoubtedly pay more for three reasons.  First, it is more expensive.  Two, it require more time to cover the cake since it iced twice (buttercream and fondant).  Third, it is a mastered skill!

Here is what is involved  in covering a standard cake with fondant:

*  Fondant needs to be kneaded until it is soft and pliable.

*  Using a rolling pin (or if you are SUPER lucky to have a sheeter which runs thousands of dollars), the fondant needs to be rolled out thinly and big enough to cover whatever size cake it is going on.

*  Fondant is lifted and placed over the iced cake.

*  After that, it needs to be smoothed onto the cake so there are no air bubbles or bumps.  During that process, it has to be gently manipulated down the sides or corners of the cake using the hands or smoothers.  By the way, a square cake is SO much harder to cover in fondant than a round one because of those dang corners.

*  Excess fondant is then trimmed.

Possible nightmares of covering a cake in fondant:

*  Tearing which is caused by gravity, fondant being too soft, or just stretching it out too much while trying to smooth it.

*  Cracking in the fondant due to dryness

*  Fondant folding over itself while trying to smooth it out on the sides, bottom, or corners.

*  Icing oozing out of the bottom of the cake from pressing too hard while smoothing the fondant or the buttercream being too soft before covering it in fondant

*  The fondant being too sticky due to humidity or too dry due to the lack of humidity.

*  Just having one of those BAD fondant days – very similar to having a really bad hair day – you can relate, right?

The television shows make it look SO easy, don’t they?!  However, working with fondant takes a lot of practice to master.  And even then, sometimes there are just those bad days where everything goes wrong.  Don’t assume that someone a designer has that skill.  Look at their pictures and be the judge.  Hopefully, your cake designer will be secure enough to admit that fondant is not something he/she is comfortable working with.

When you have a cake tasting with your cake designer, ask if you can taste the fondant that would be used.  Then put it with a piece of cake and try it.  You be the judge!

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For me, it is one way for me to get some sleep!  Yes, sleep!  There IS a reason my business name is ‘a cake dream‘, you know.  I can go crazy making displays JUST so I can get some of the ideas out of my head and get some sleep.  This time, something fun occurred.

I love the shape of the hexagon cake.  Unfortunately, not too many brides are adventurous enough to try it or, or just don’t think of it, since most photos on bridal sites highlight round or square cakes.  Anyway, I created this one design, entitled Pure Love.

Pure Love Wedding Cake by a cake dream NJ

After looking at it many, many times…..I had an idea.  What if I were to change the added decorations to create different designs!  Look at HOW different the cake looks JUST by adding these variety of design elements!

White Rose & Brown Border

Draped Crystals

Large Crystal Flower & Brown Border

Red Roses & Brown Border

Large Peach Rose & Brown Border

Small Crystal Flower & Brown Border

Do you see how these simple changes really change the style of the cake?  It can go from classic to modern to chic to understated elegance.  So the next time YOU see a cake design that you like – think about WHAT you like about it….is it the shape, the color, the decorations.  Then bring those elements to your cake designer to create your very own amazing custom cake for your wedding or party!

Which one of these designs is YOUR favorite?

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You read correctly!

a cake dream just won Best of the Best 2012 by the Daily Record in Randolph, NJ!  Thank you for all of my clients, friends, family, and fans for voting!

a cake dream voted Best Bakery 2012, NJ

Thank you!

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Ombre Sugar Hearts

Awhile back, I was browsing a favorite blog, The Wedding Chicks, and came across this DIY post about how to make these Ombre Sugar Hearts.  I knew immediately that I was going to have to try these – and if I didn’t know it, my daughter Karina (not her real name) was CERTAINLY going to make sure that I knew it!  LOL!

So, one day, when I had nothing else to do other than clean the house, be with my kids and husband, play with the dog, wash the dishes, do the laundry, or clean out the garage……..I decided to give it a try. Here are some things I discovered and thought I’d share with you:

~  One thing I found out upon trying this is that it is VERY time consuming.  I thought it was because I had never made them before that I was taking such a long time, but I made them again this past week and it still took me a long time.  By the time you find the right consistency of the sugar and cut the shapes out and add more sugar and repeat this until you are done……you are looking at a minimum of an hour and THAT is if you are moving fast.  Of course, I like to time myself to see how fast I can get things done.  It is my training – sorry!

~  This makes a LOT of little hearts!  I guess if you are cutting out something bigger, then you wouldn’t have quite as many – duh!  But, my daughter wanted the little hearts and who am I to deny her?!  Thankfully I have the patience of a saint (or at least that is what my mother always tells me) and made all 600 hearts!  If you do not want so many, then do not add a lot of sugar to each batch and you won’t have QUITE as many – but you’ll still have a lot.

~  These are NOT fun to cut on a cake.  The guests LOVE them, but they do make it a little harder to cut the cake since they offer some resistance and will fall off.  This will result in the not-so-perfect-looking slice of cake.  However, they can easily be picked up and placed ON the cake as an added bonus.

~  The hardest part for me was finding the right consistency for the sugar.  The instructions say for it to be like wet sand (“like sands falling through the hourglass” – sorry, I couldn’t resist!).  Well, I don’t know about you, but there are varying degrees of wet sand.  How wet?  Smushy wet?  Damp?  The kind of wet sand needed to create a sand castle?  So, it took me a couple of times to figure it out.  For me, it worked better on the mushier side.  But if it was TOO mushy, then it stuck tho the parchment paper when I tried to lift it.

The end result was SO worth it!  Everyone loved it, especially my daughter.  And since she LOVES crystals and sparkly things – I had to add these mega cool crystal butterflies for her.  This particular cake required 455 mini sugar hearts and the inside was pink ombre as well.  Enjoy!

'Karina' featuring Pink Ombre Sugar Hearts by a cake dream, NJ

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Best Tasting Cake in NJ - a cake dream

Welcome back to the next part of Cake 101!

If you are just joining me, I am writing a series of posts entitled ‘Cakes 101′ designed to explain everything you might want to know about cakes.  This is not a serious for cake decorators, but rather a series for the people who order them and eat them.  What you should know about buttercream, cake, fondant, sugar flowers, etc – everything that is involved in creating YOUR custom designed cake for your wedding or birthday or any special occasion in you life.  I would highly recommend reading the first segment about Buttercream just so you you don’t miss out on any great information.

This time it is all about the cake!

Now to try to conquer one of the most debated topics in the baking industry….cakes made from scratch versus mixes.  This is not a new topic of discussion in this field.  There are so many articles about it, that I most likely will not be stating anything ‘new’ about this debate.  I am just offering my view and opinions.  And since there IS no REAL answer, you’ll just have to come up with your own.  Is your curiosity peeked yet?!

I am going to start this post by saying this: unless you have dietary restrictions or want to know exactly what is going into your cake, it is ALL a matter of taste!  There!  I said it.  One is NOT better than the other.  It is ONLY a matter of what YOU like.

Now, as a designer, I had to learn how to bake.  I was not one of those people that grew up baking all of the time and loved it.  Hardly.  I got involved with designing cakes because I love to design them and create them…not bake them.  However, it was necessary for me to be able to bake a really good cake otherwise who would want to order their cake from me, right?  So I tried a variety of recipes and chose the ones that my clients liked and that I liked.  My friends and family taste tested for me, but I didn’t tell them what recipe I used.  I wanted their taste buds to dictate their preference, not their mind.

Before I begin, let me clarify what it means to make something from a mix versus from scratch. When a cake, or anything, is made from scratch, it means that you are providing all of the natural ingredients.  There are no additives.  No preservatives.  No chemicals.  You can pretty much pronounce every item added.  When you start with a mix, then you have the basic ingredients (flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, etc) already measured out and formulated to provide you with a foolproof cake every time.  Well, almost every time.  I guess it can depend on who is doing the baking.  Then you add the ‘wet’ ingredients such as eggs, milk, oil, water, etc to the mix to create your batter.   There can be additives, chemicals, preservatives and some other things added in that basic mix (depending on the manufacturer) in order to prolong the shelf life and to enhance the taste.  Keep in mind that this applies to almost all baked goods made from a mix…cupcakes, muffins, cookies, pies, bread, etc.

Cakes from Scratch

One of the most common complaints that I have heard about cakes being made from scratch is that they are dry.  Yes…some can be…..but there are also some very moist cakes out there that are made from scratch.   If you start with a good recipe and bake it properly, it can be delicious and extremely moist!  I like the idea of knowing exactly what goes into my cake.  It may be especially  important for people who may have food allergies, dietary restrictions, or want to eat all natural.   However, as I mention below, there are many companies that have developed cake and cookie mixes for those dietary restrictions.

Starting with a Mix

Did you know that every cake that you buy from a supermarket is made with a mix?  That fluffy cake that is oh-so-moist is NOT made from scratch on location.  I am sure there are some supermarket bakeries somewhere that make it from scratch, but just check out this video of how some cakes arrive in the front bakery window:  Cake Production

Some bakeries start with a mix out of convenience, taste, or cost.  I do not say that ALL bakeries do this since I have never done the research, but that is what I discovered by attending trade shows, visiting bakeries, speaking with bakers, and looking for supplies.

Now….a DOCTORED  mix is when you take that mix and tweak it.  Instead of adding water, you add orange juice and replace the oil with sour cream or yogurt…things like that.  There are some doctored mixes that have the mix as its base, then you add fresh strawberry puree, strawberry yogurt, puddings, etc.  some of these cakes are delicious!  Some are not.  Again, it is a matter of taste!   I remember going crazy trying to please a client and providing her with an incredible tasting cake, only to find out that she was comparing the taste to the cakes found at A &P Supermarkets!  At that point, I stopped since I knew that I could never replicate that unless I used their mix!

If you require Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Peanut Free, or Dairy Free sweet treats, there are even mixes for those!  There are extensive lines of mixes by Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur Flour, and Cherrybrook Kitchen.  These are great companies and will not have all of the added preservatives that you might find in your basic Duncan Hines Cake Mix.  These natural and special dietary cake mixes can be used as a ‘base’ as well.  So not ALL mixes are bad, right?

End Result

So what does all of this mean exactly?  Very easy….if you like it…..EAT it!  Schedule a tasting with the cake designer of your choice.  Schedule a tasting with a couple of cake designers.  Everyone has something different to offer, whether it be the cake, the icing, or the design.  When I schedule a tasting for my clients, the first thing I let them know is that it is okay if they do not like my cake since everyone has different tastes.  That is the whole purpose of HAVING a tasting!

Whether someone bakes from scratch or uses a mix….it is all about the end result and whether it tastes good, don’t you agree?!  Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t gloat for a minute by mentioning that a cake dream won Best Tasting Event Cake at the Cake  Off-Bake Off event held by the International Special Events Society here in North Jersey.

Anyway…..go eat some cake until my next post about fondant.

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when I got hooked on cake designing, I knew NOTHING about the bakery business.  My only experience with weddings was playing in them – you know – those little trios or quartets that play before and after the ceremony or during cocktail hour?!  So, when I started to create cakes for weddings – it was a whole new world!  Before, all I knew was to buy the cake mix and icing containers at the store, add the necessary ingredients, bake it, plop the icing on it, spread it around a bit so it covers the whole cake, and TA-DA….I had a cake!  On special occasions, we had the Strawberry Shortcake – vanilla cake iced in whipped cream and strawberries on top.  So you can’t be surprised that my wedding cake actually came from a supermarket – it wasn’t something that was important to me in the least.

Wow!!!  I cannot tell you HOW different it REALLY is!

First you bake the cakes, then you torte the cake (cut it in half for another layer), then you make the filling and the icing, then you put the dam around the inside of the cake so the filling doesn’t leak out, then you add the filling.  Then you repeat that process before you can even THINK about icing the cake.  And boy…the days of just sticking the spatula into the icing container and spreading it around and calling it done…those days are long gone!  Now, I have to crumb coat, chill it, then ice it, heat the spatula in order to have an extremely smooth and even surface for the decorations.  THAT takes a lot of practice – not so easy at first.  THEN you continue with the decorations – which is a whole other load of skills!!  *sigh*

SO……

What is the big deal about a wedding cake, you ask?  Why is it more stressful than performing on stage at Lincoln Center in front of thousands of people?!  Because EVERYONE remembers it….for a REALLY long time.  Think about it – think of a friend or family member that got married.  What do you remember?  The dress….the music….the location….and if the cake was really good.  If you DON’T remember the cake, then it probably wasn’t that great.  Don’t get offended….just be honest with yourself about it.  There is nothing good or bad about it….it just IS.

My point in writing this particular post is to educate you.  Whether you be the bride or the groom, part of the Bridal family, an event planner, or just a person that is interested in wedding cakes…..this is important information.  There are SO many great articles and posts out there about cake pricing and how to budget for your cake.  I particularly like this one from Stacey’s Sweet Shop – couldn’t have written better.

But what I want to share with you is the whole shebang.  The kinds of buttercream, fondant, scratch recipes versus box mixes, carving cakes, sugar flowers, licenses, training, etc.  But since there are SO many categories, I will have to break this up into several posts (sorry).

Buttercream Wedding Cake by a cake dream, NJ

ALL ABOUT BUTTERCREAM

Did you know that there are more than FIVE different kinds of buttercream?!  I never knew that before I got involved in baking and decorating!  I get calls from clients asking me for a buttercream cake and I am wondering “okay, well, which kind have they had?  Which one was it that they liked?”  So here is your buttercream education:

French Buttercream is made with egg yolks, butter, vanilla, sugar, and water.  This tends to be very rich in taste and with all of the egg yolks and butter….I would imagine it to be high in cholesterol as well.

Italian Meringue Buttercream is made with egg whites, butter, sugar, and water.   For this recipe, you start with a meringue and then add a hot sugar syrup to it, followed by the remaining ingredients.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is also made with egg whites, butter, sugar, and water.  The difference is in how it is made.   This time you have the egg whites and the sugar warmed together followed by the remaining ingredients.

American Buttercream is made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.  Some of the butter can be swapped out for shortening.  This also eliminates the need for a stove top and dealing with potentially dangerous, burning hot syrup.

Decorator’s Buttercream is made with shortening, powdered sugar, milk/water/heavy cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.  This is ideal for borders, piped roses, and those such things.  It is also a standard icing to use when people first learn to decorate cakes since it lasts longer, does not have to be refrigerated (if made with water), and just a little easier to deal with as a beginner.  Some bakers will still use this icing as their standard ‘buttercream’.

Bettercream is….well …..for lack of a better word…fake buttercream.  I am not putting it down since it does serve its purpose – it is a non dairy icing that is frequently found on cakes at supermarkets and wholesale food places such as Sam’s Club, Costco, and BJ’s.  It has a texture similiar to whipped cream.  The ingredient list is too long for me to post – well, not really – I am just trying to make a nonchalant point that there is nothing natural about this icing – sorry.  I do know that there are some people really like the taste of it, which makes sense.  If all you know are supermarket cakes then you only know the taste of Bettercreme and that is how you end up judging the taste of OTHER cakes….looking for the same cake and icings.  But you never knew that the cakes come either pre-baked or are made on the premises from a bakery mix and use pre-made icing.

There are many more icings like Cream Cheese, Whipped Cream and 7-Minute Frosting – but the ones above are pretty much the standard for wedding cakes.  When I give my base price for buttercream cakes, you have to consider that not only is the client paying for my designs, experience, base costs, and time – the client is also paying for the ingredients….have you SEEN the price of butter – good butter – and eggs lately?!?!  Goodness gracious!  It is almost enough for me to consider making my own – it is outrageous.  Forgive the diversion….but this all determines the price of your cake.

It is also a misconception that your wedding cake can’t be in buttercream.  I know that Fondant is all the rage right now, but it is more for the look than for the taste (I will discuss Fondant in the next post).  If you check out some of the cakes created by Design Me A Cake or by Sharon’s Sugar Shack you will see some pretty amazing designs that are ALL buttercream!  So, don’t dismiss buttercream just because of the look.  But do keep in mind that you will be paying for that kind of expertise, because that is NOT a skill that everyone and anyone can do.  There are times that buttercream will NOT work – many carved cakes, or 3D cakes hold their shape better with fondant.  Certain designs just LOOK better in fondant.  Fondant holds up better in warm weather than regular buttercream.

Nevertheless, there is no right or wrong buttercream (except when it comes to it being in 90 degree weather) to use.  There is no better tasting or worse tasting buttercream- it is ONLY a matter of preference!  So, when you schedule a tasting with your cake designer – which I strongly urge you to do – ask if you can taste the buttercream that they would be using or even ask them if they have other ones to sample as well – you never know – they just might!

Stay tuned for the next topic of Fondant….until then….have fun searching for your perfect cake design 

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I realized that I never showed you the end results for the cake design I had been working on in my previous post, Loving the Challenge.  I am THRILLED with how it came out!  So thrilled that I immediately called up Samantha Shay from Samantha Shay Photography and said that this needs to have some incredible photos taken of it that I can’t possibly take on my own.   Thankfully, she agreed and took a gorgeous close up of the design.  Sparkly and everything!

Jakarta Wedding Cake with hand piped design by a cake dream, NJ Photo by Samantha Shay Photography

Then we messed around a bit with setting and came up with this photo.

Jakarta Wedding Cake with hand piped design by a cake dream, NJ Photo by Samantha Shay Photography

And here is a photo that I took.

Jakarta Wedding Cake with hand piped design by a cake dream, NJ

So there you go….the final design   If you have read the other posts, you might recall that Samantha was also the amazing photographer of the Winter Wonderland Design and my logo photos.

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Well, I am scheduling those classes!  Mimosa Flowers!  Peonies!  Hydrangeas!  Poppies!  Dahlias!

Here are some photos of the flowers that you can learn to make with a cake dream.

Yellow Mimosa and Blue Hydrangea Sugar Flowers

Sugar Peony Flower

Poppy Sugar Flowers

And then we will recreate this gorgeous flower!!!!  The Dahlia!

Dahlia Flower

SO…if you want to sign up for classes, please check out the class schedule to see what is being taught and when.  I am offering classes on the weekend AND during the week on Wednesdays.  I know that there are some of you who are like me and have kids in school which makes the day time the BEST and EASIEST time to attend a class!  And for those of you that work or are just unavailable during the week, I won’t let you miss out!!  Those classes are repeated on the weekend.  So what are you waiting for?!  Come and smell the flowers with a cake dream!

Email: info@acakedream.com

Phone: 973.476.0923

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So…..I decided to figure out how to incorporate a rainbow in a unique way.  If you know me, you know that I love the unexpected….and rather than make a traditional shaped three tiered square cake like  6″, 8″, 10″ squares stacked on top of each other, I had to make it different.  I switched them around and had the smaller size be in the middle.  When I first start designing a cake, I almost always have a bunch of cake dummies in front of me and start building.  I see what shapes I like and how I want them stacked.  This can either be BEFORE or AFTER I have a design in mind.  There are times that I know what shapes I want and then let them ‘speak’ to me.  Sometimes I just have one design aspect in mind and will start with that to see where it leads me.

Anyway, I digress.  This cake was a creation of love.  Love for my daughter, love for colors, and love for the sense of ‘delicate freedom’ that butterflies seem to invoke.

Rainbow Butterflies

Each butterfly was made with gumpaste using a special cutter, set to dry for a couple of days, and then hand painted.  There are butterflies on each side of the tier.  I wanted them to be ‘flying through the rainbow’.

Hand Painted Sugar Butterflies

Hand Painted Sugar Butterflies

Hand Painted Sugar Butterflies

Until next time…..

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