Let Them Eat Cake

cake designBefore I ever tried upholstery or making iPhone accessories, I tried decorating cakes. Growing up, we used the boxed cake and icing to make fun Christmas, Easter, and Fourth of July cakes.   Looking back, I realize that they were nothing spectacular, but I always enjoyed making (and eating!!) them nonetheless. 
Fast forward through college to the months leading up to my wedding. We tasted cakes at several bakeries but decided to meet with a lady who had her own cake company. The cake was moist and tasty and I ate several pieces of it at that meeting. I told you all of that so I could tell you this: the lady who made that yummy cake lives in a neighborhood off a back road outside of a town about an hour from my hometown. Behind her house is an extra building about the size of a three-car garage. Two-thirds of that space is occupied by a really cool professional kitchen with a meeting/eating area. It even has its own bathroom!

When we walked out of that place I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to work toward having a space like that one day and learn how to make fun, fancy cakes. While I currently work out of my regular old kitchen and only make the occasional cake, it’s still in the back of my mind for the future.


Keep reading for a peek at some of my favorite recent cakes!

 
Chocolate ganache cake with Reese's pieces

 

 

 

 

 

The first cake I made by myself for a special event.  In this case,
a co-worker’s last day on the job.  It was a yummy dark chocolate
cake with chocolate ganache icing, crushed Reese’s cups between
the layers, decorated with Reese’s pieces, Reese’s cups, and
chocolate-flavored icing for the writing.  It was yummy.

University of South Carolina USC cake
The real USC
iphone cake
iPhone cake
A year later, and my first attempt at using fondant.
Woke up that morning having never used it
before, so despite the fact that it’s definitely not
the best cake I ever made, it’s one of my favorites
since I literally had no clue what I was doing

 

fondant bow cake
Fast forward 6 months, and I enrolled in classes and officially
learned how to use fondant.
fish cake
I made the cake at the beach that summer with the help of my
cousin’s daughters, who created the artwork on the pan, along
with the fish’s eyeball and lips.

 

basket of black eyed susans cake
Judy’s basket full of black-eyed Susans (and a ladybug!)
Jack-o-lantern Halloween cake pops
In the fall, I taught myself how to make cute cake pops. The first
attempt I ever made at dipping the pops was for my brother’s
party for his business school graduation. My sister-in-law made
the pops themselves, and my mom and I did a terrible job of
covering them. But they tasted good! 🙂
Clemson tiger paw birthday cake
My brother’s Clemson Tiger birthday cake! One of my favorites.
 
kettlebell personal trainer birthday cake
Kettlebell cake (and a real kettlebell) that I made for
some of the personal trainers I work with.

 

ice cream cone birthday cake
Another favorite – our friends’ baby’s first birthday!
She loved the little green marshmellow fondant balls on her mini cake.
turkey cake pops with candy corn feathers
My cousin and I made these cute turkeys for Thanksgiving!
people cake pops
Above: Some of my family members’ likenesses represented by
little cake people for my grandmother’s 90th birthday party.
Below: The finished product ready to be transported 30 miles
down the road in my lap because I was too afraid to put it
anywhere else in the car! Again, a favorite. But I’m pretty sure
it gave me some gray hair!
90th birthday cake with people cake pops
I’m currently working on another cake for a spice-themed wedding shower this weekend.  If all goes as planned, it’ll be another favorite! 
 
Update:  Read about the spice cake in Let Them Eat Cake, Volume 2.