miscellaneous cakes

Here's some various cake experiments I did over the last few years when I lived in LA. I learned something from all of them, which is the point I think! I won't use a box mix & love trying new flavors but we will save that for another post. I also am anti-fondant but we'll get to that later.

Margarita cake. Delicious because I used a vanilla recipe but subbed in tequila, Cointreau & lime juice. Used a tangy lime bettercream. It was quite the hit. This was my first attempt at carving and also poured sugar (stem, ice cubes & lime). Poured sugar is hard!

Bowling cake. I used a Wilton ball mold for the ball.

Kitty cake. No carving, just a pretty kitty.

Thomas cake. I made this for my nephew & brought it on the plane from LA to Ohio. Not my best work and it was a hot summer. (Shoulda not used straight buttercream).

Still, he loved it so it was worth it all.

Trivial Pursuit cake. This was for 2 board game-loving friends who have birthday days apart. My first attempt with fondant. I hate fondant covered cakes. They are gross & the cake is usually dry. Who wants to peel off something to eat what's underneath? I'd rather look at a cake, see how pretty it is & eat what I see. I will use it for accents but never a whole cake. And I will try to make my own (much tastier & not hard).

This is my second fave cake. My owl cake is my fave (post coming up).

lots & lots of fondant!

board

trio

Frankenstein cake. Work contest (I won!). I wanted to cut into it & get an oozy bloody brain. No such luck. Also, my first attempt at a fondant covered cake. I learned a lot here - cake was too soft for it to support the weight of the fondant, how to work with fondant, etc.

 So overall a good lesson. This is why I bake - for fun, and to learn. Well, between that & watching Ace of Cakes/Cupcake Wars/Amazing Wedding cakes.