Cakes, Cakes, and More Cakes

The month of June has been insane for cakes. I made seven cakes in the last two weeks and I have three more orders to fill this week. Whoa! Here are a couple of the cakes I worked on this month...

The staff at my school decided to get together to have a little potluck celebration for our City Year team. They were having their last day at our school and we had to celebrate just how awesome they had been. Naturally, I made a cake for the potluck.

Trying to match that font was really tricky. My hand just isn't that steady when I'm cutting out fondant.

One of the other cakes I made was for the last staff breakfast of the year. I had been working on making fondant daisies for another cake and I had a large one that just didn't seem to be right. So I stuck it on the staff cake to spruce it up a bit. Then, I wasn't sure what message to write on the cake. "Deuces!" seemed a little too short. 

Have a Great Summer did the trick.

This past weekend, my friend's parents were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. My friend and her brother were throwing their parents  a surprise party. She sent me a picture from their wedding and asked if I could use the daisies in her mom's bouquet (& the fact that the bridesmaid dresses had been sky blue) for inspiration. I had some trouble getting my daisies to hold up well and having pointy ends that didn't match the bouquet. So, I started over and cut long, rounded petals that I could overlap. It was a long process, but they were really cute. These are the flowers I ended up with:

My kitchen has been very busy and it looks as though that trend is going to continue for at least the next two weeks. Keep those orders coming, folks!

**Don't forget that if you're in the Boston area and need some cake you can:

1.) send me an email (thecakebeast@gmail.com) 

or 

2.) use the contact form on the right sidebar to tell me what you need!

By the way, did you remember to stop by and "like" my Facebook page?

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

Fourth of July

We held our annual 4th of July cookout this year. I decided to make two cakes. I went with the patriotic rose cake (although, mine doesn't look nearly as nice as the one at iambaker) and my coconut cream cake.

The rose cake was fun because I colored the layers inside, too. The only problem was that I made it the night before and couldn't wait until the next day to cut into it and take a picture. So, I cut a slice and carefully put it back when I was done. I figured my guests wouldn't really mind that much.

My attempt at the Patriotic Rose cake

Red, white, & blue layers for the occasion

The last day of school, I made a coconut cream cake for my assistant principal, Zaida. It was a recipe I had never tried and I was a little worried about how it might taste. I always get nervous giving someone a cake that I haven't tried myself. She texted me later that evening to tell me the cake was "SUPER" and that she wanted it named after her. I figured with praise like that, my guests might like it at my cookout, too. Luckily, it was a big hit! This time around, I made stabilized whipped cream frosting because I was worried about it falling apart in the heat we had. It held up great!

Coconut Cream Cake a.k.a. Zaida's Cake

The cakes were a hit for the Fourth of July and I had fun trying a few new things. I've got a few orders coming up, but I'd love to add some recipes and techniques to my repertoire. If you've got ideas or orders for me, send them along!

**Don't forget that if you're in the Boston area and need some cake you can:

1.) send me an email (thecakebeast@gmail.com) 

or 

2.) use the contact form on the right sidebar to tell me what you need!

By the way, did you remember to stop by and "like" my Facebook page?

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

A Cast of Characters

A lot of my cakes are ordered for children's birthdays. Anyone who knows kids, knows that they usually have a favorite movie or TV character that they're into depending on their age. Here are some of my favorite "character cakes" that I've made. (If you're looking for princesses, you can find them here.)

This whole cake thing really started when I made my first cake for my oldest child's 2nd birthday. At the time, he was totally obsessed with Bob the Builder. I bought the pan, followed the instructions, and the rest is history...

A little inexperienced, but not too shabby

My son really wanted a Star Wars cake for one of his birthdays. When one of my friends saw it, she ordered a small one for her boyfriend, too!

This one was for my son

Matching light saber cupcakes

A "grown-up" Star Wars cake

Video games always seem to be popular. Here are a couple of cakes inspired by the Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario himself

"Mushroom" cupcakes to match

Mario wouldn't be complete without Luigi!

The character cakes I've done have really run the gamut. From cartoons, books, and video games there have been quite a few. Here's a random sample:

Mickey Mouse

Elmo 

Angelina Ballerina

Harry Potter

Batman

Spiderman

Spiderman cupcakes

Snoopy 

The Wild Kratts

Thomas the Tank Engine (complete with rock candy "smoke")

Ninjago

Lego Firetruck

Skylanders and the Portal of Power

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Daniel Tiger

Strawberry Shortcake

Hello Kitty

There's a cast of characters in cake. If you have a special request, send it along... I'd love to add a new character to my repertoire!

**Don't forget that if you're in the Boston area and need some cake you can send me an email (thecakebeast@gmail.com) or use the contact form on the right sidebar to tell me what you need!

By the way, did you remember to stop by and "like" my Facebook page?

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

The Three Cake Weekend

Last weekend was a 3 cake weekend. Friday, I volunteered to make a cake for the kids' end of the year potluck at school. Saturday, I was booked for a christening. And Sunday, I made a birthday cake.

Unfortunately, I got so wrapped up in those cakes, that I didn't think to make one for Father's Day. (I owe you one, dad. With extra frosting!)

Needless to say, my counters had lots of bowls going all weekend long. Chocolate batter, strawberry batter, and many colors of frosting. My apron got a real workout. 

This was the cake for the kids' potluck. The school logo got a little wobbly, but I figured kids will eat anything and decided not to fix it.

A friend at work was having her daughter, Grace's, christening. 

Somebody else ordered an Abby Cadabby cake for their daughter's birthday. They also wanted strawberry cake so that it would be pink inside. The whole kitchen smelled like strawberry while it baked!

And this is what the counter looks like when I start coloring all of the buttercream frosting. Abby Cadabby was a colorful character!

Other than the four dozen cupcakes I made for my son's class party (at 4am), I don't have any other cakes booked this weekend. So, if you're hungry for homemade cake, you know who to contact!

**Don't forget that if you're in the Boston area and need some cake you can send me an email (thecakebeast@gmail.com) or use the contact form on the right sidebar to tell me what you need!

By the way, did you remember to stop by and "like" my Facebook page?