Train part 2!

Well, the second train turned out pretty cute as well.  This time, the cake was for a second birthday party.  I did the cake for this little guy's first party too... and his baby shower.  :)  I like when I can do several cakes over the years and watch the themes change year to year.

This cake was a 1/4 sheet with the train cars placed on top.  I didn't use the firmer cake mix this time and did a trial with the regular type of cake.  It turned out just fine but took a few minutes longer in the oven.  I was pleased with the way it turned out!

That same day, another cake was due.  I had no clue who "Team Umizoomi" was at the time.  I freehanded this one to resemble a picture I was given.  I'll have you know... that I knew that I had done a good enough job when my four year old cheered and yelled "Umizoomi!"  I figured.. if he can recognize them, they must look ok!  :)  We have watched the show, several times a day, every day since this cake was made.

This next cake was ordered by my Mary Kay consultant.  She wanted a cake made for her husband who was having a suprise birthday party for his 51st birthday.  He was very sick, battling cancer for his 50th birthday and couldn't enjoy his birthday.  He is since in remission and enjoying life a little more this year.  She wanted to make this birthday special for him since he has had such a rough time.  This cake was to incorporate his love of flying, black for the big 5-1... and the message "We've only just begun." 

It was yellow cake with a raspberry preserve icing filling.  YUM! 

Train Baby Shower Cake

     This past Christmas, I received a William-Sonoma train cake pan.  I was excited to receive it an wanted to use it, but knew that it would be too much work to just make it for myself.   I waited for the perfect reason to use it.  After waiting what seems like forever, I finally got a request for a train cake!  Within a day, the second train cake request came in.  The first cake was due today.  I have another one due next weekend. 
     The first train cake that I was asked to do was for a baby shower today.  I used a picture of the baby bedding to choose the colors for each of the train cars. 

I started by mixing the cake mix for the train cars from scratch.  It takes a little different cake mix to make this because it needs to be sturdy and able to hold the icing well.  I followed the directions provided with the pan, and filled the pan to the top of the well.  I would  leave a little space next time, as the cake spread a little and ended up needing to be trimmed up after baking.    I then trimmed the edges to separate the train cars and began to decorate them seperately.

I used the colors from the crib set in this cake.  Colors included red, blue, green, yellow, orange and black.  I decided to use some chocolate chips and some brown sugar in the cargo train cars.  Below, you can see the car with the chocolate chips and the brown sugar.  I thought that M & Ms would have been really cute as well, but my kiddos ate them before I was able to get them on the train!

I was almost finished and was in the home stretch.  I decided to create a train track and trim the cake in plain white icing.  I didn't want to take away from the train itself.  I then sprinkled the top of the cake with opal sanding sugar for a little sparkle... and voila! 

I was sooo excited with the finished project.

Can't wait to see what I can do with the train cake next weekend! 

I think this is one pan that I can use over and over for an original look every time! 

Back to Business!

Well, I have done a little of my own rehabilitation lately with my wrist.  I have almost gotten my entire range of motion back in just a little under 2 weeks.  :)  I am very excited to be back at working with cakes and am sooo happy that I have a few more wedding cake consults coming up in the next couple weeks. 

This past weekend was a crazy one!  I made one cake for Friday night that had a softball design.  It wasn't anything too original and crazy, but it turned out just the way I had hoped.  Just after dropping off the softball theme cake, I began work on a two tier cake for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet that was taking place on Sat. 

My son was earning his bear badge, which is very exciting.  Blue and Gold is a more formal scouting event.  We get together to celebrate the birthday of scouting, as well as the accomplishments of the kids over the course of the year.  They boys strive to earn their rank by the time that the Blue and Gold rolls around.  We were also celebrating the 100th year of scouting.  After RSVP count for the big event, we were expecting roughly 150 people to attend.   I decided on a square, 2 tier cake in white and dark chocolate fudge.  I did a little research to decide exactly what kind of design I should go with for the occasion.  I found a badge online that the boys would be receiving for attending the Blue and Gold banquet.  I decided to utilize this as my focal point on the top of the cake.  I decorated the cake with white icing and accented in blue and gold.  I delivered the cake to the church hall where the dinner was being held and set things up.  I tried to take a picture, however, my camera decided to be difficult and had an error reading.  Someone else took the photos and will be sending them to me shortly.  I'll add the pictures at that time.    I spent the afternoon and part of the evening enjoying the company of the cub scout family and we cleaned up around 7:30.  I was headed home to begin the third and most difficult cake of the weekend. 

I had a two tier, marble cake to create for a baby shower.  I was making this cake for someone that I went to high school with and whom I had never made a cake for before.  She wanted a jungle theme cake similar to one that I had made in the past.  It featured fondant accents of jungle animals, polka dots and fondant shoes on the top.  I began icing the cake at approx. 10:30.  I then realized I had run out of the butter necessary to make the icing.  Grrr..I was a little moody, but headed to the grocery store for the butter and a couple bags of donuts that the kiddos could have for breakfast.  I just knew it would be a LONG night.  :)  I rolled the fondant and created all the little creatures, etc. for the sides of the cake.  This is a fairly easy process, it just takes time and the right consistency of fondant.  Things went well til I got to the shoes.  I worked on the shoes for a solid hour and a half.. and finally, decided that since it was 3:30...I was going to add a bow accent to the top of the cake instead.  I would rather alter the cake slightly and make it elegant and a slight variation of the original than to risk the shoes not looking as nice on the top of the cake.  In the end, I feel it was the best choice to make with this situation.  Below is a picture of the original cake that I made.  The new cake looks much the same, only with a bow on top.  :)  I'll try to upload a picture of that one soon.  :)

Now... I am apparently an absolute crazy lady.. but, immediately following the pickup of this order, I started cake 4 for the weekend.  This one was for a special customer.  A little over nine years ago I gave birth to this special customer of mine.  He wanted a special birthday cake which represented his interest in wrestling.  He was recently bummed to hear that his favorite wrestler, Jeff Hardy, had left the WWE.  We decided that we would create a cake that had a pendant design on it.  He was insistant that he needed a two layer cake with chocolate and white cake.  White on the top layer and chocolate on the bottom layer.  The colors were to be blue and bright neon green.  He did some research and printed off a picture for me to "refer to."  Using the picture, I created the cake design below and he LOVED it!

Of course, we had to explain the theme to most guests, since not everyone is a true Jeff Hardy fan!  Lastly...we added a 9 candle to the cake... that upon request as well.  :)  Happy Birthday Seth!