Whimsical Cakes

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take a Whimsical Cakes course at The Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design.  Allyson Meredith of Allyson Meredith Cakes was our instructor. Techniques used during this class allow us to carve cakes into various shapes and sizes and make cakes that resembles real-life objects from cars to chocolate bars.  The sky is truly the limit.   During this class I made a purse cake.    

Sim simmer...

I made these cupcakes for my friend Nancy, Pre-Owned Sales Master, at BMW Durham.  Thats, right, she is a sales MASTER!  

Logos and pictures can be added to edible "paper" using a special printer with edible ink.  

It's a Girl!

Congratulations to Rebecca and Jarek who welcomed baby Ella Avery into the world.  I made these pretty "onesie" cookies as soon as I found out it was a girl!  The icing sugar cookies are covered in embossed fondant.

Blossoms

This 3-tier, square cake was inspired by apple blossoms.  These pink blossoms were made out of gum paste.

Rebecca's Baby Shower

Since we did not know whether Rebecca was having a boy or girl, I made the cake and cupcakes without traditional baby-themed colours.  These treats were lemon buttermilk poppyseed with lemon cream cheese icing.  I made the pregnant lady on top of the cake out of fondant.

Baby "Onesies"

I made these cookies for my former neighbour to take to a baby shower.  It was a girl of course!

Hooked at an Early Age

When I was making my website I thought it would be humorous to add some pictures of me enjoying sweets at a young age.  I still love desserts, but I can at least make them for others to enjoy as well!

Research....really!

This past summer my husband and I visited Quebec City.  We did all the touristy things we could think of including visiting pastry shops.  I was quite excited that our hotel room window actually faced Paillard Cafe-Boulangerie.  Pictured above was my favourite pastry.  It is called a Religieuse aux Chocolate made with choux pastry and chocolate confectioner's custard. Delicious! 

Olson Foods + Bakery

On a recent drive to the Niagara region for a friends' Jack and Jill I was quite excited to visit Olson Foods + Bakery.  Anna Olson is a successful pastry chef who I really admire.  All of her recipes have worked so well for me and they also taste great! 

Very Berry

This strawberry buttercream was made with real strawberries.  It is one of my favourite recipes.

Designer Cupcakes

Me and my friend Michelle had a great time attending a two-day "Designer Cupcakes" workshop at the Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design.  We also used our drive to Toronto as an excuse to sample cupcakes at local shops!

Business Cards

These are two of the business cards that John Forbes created for me.   I liked them all so much that I decided to at least narrow it down to two different cards and order them both!  These cards are double-sided.  

P.S.  The cupcake looks nice and clear on the business cards in real life!

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

This cake was made for the same First Holy Communion.  The cake that is actually on the cover of Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook was requested.  

Fist Holy Communion Cookies

These cookies were made for a friends' son's First Holy Communion (is that grammar right?) His name was Luke of course, and the cookies were wrapped in individual bags with matching ribbons.  

Lee Valley

Very few people would be excited to receive (and take a picture of) these new kitchen tools.  Steve was kind enough to spend his Lee Valley gift certificate on me (even though I bought it for him for Christmas.)  I received new measuring cups, measuring spoons, a zester, and a baking calculator.  Thank you Steve!  

Photo shoot

Here are more photos done by Jolene.  Well, I think all of the photos so far in this blog have been done by Jolene!

Rehearsal Dinner Cookies

I made these cookies for Andrea and Richard's wedding rehearsal dinner.  We had a fabulous Italian meal with great company!  The cookies were topped with embossed fondant and whimsical gum paste flowers.  The edible silver balls in the center or the flowers are called dragees.  The cookies were individually wrapped for each guest.

Wilton Course 3

This cake was really fun to make.  The bow is made of hot pink fondant and the rest of the cake is covered in white fondant with polka dots.  The stitching on the bow was created with a tool that a seamstress would use.

The surface of the cake is covered in white fondant and the roses are made of pink fondant.  It takes a few days to make the roses since I let them dry after each layer of petals.  A cake like this can take 30-50 roses.

Wilton Course 2

I had a great time taking the Wilton courses with the help of my wonderful instructor and friend, Michelle. The flowers on this cake are made from royal, icing which dries rock-solid. The basketweave pattern is made from buttercream.

Hummingbord Cupcakes

This is one of my favourite cupcake recipes. These are referred to as hummingbird cupcakes and are topped with cream cheese icing. They contain pineapple, coconut and banana, which I think pair well with the icing.

Easter Cookies

Here are some more icing sugar cookies I made for Easter. I really like the colours that were used. All of the cookies have embossed fondant.

The Evolution of the Butterfly

The pink fondant on this butterfly was embossed to give the cookie a more unique look.