Super delicious birthday cookies

OK, so I am SO not ready for this week!  This is the queen mother of busy weeks for me!  A bridal show on Sunday, a large tasting at the Chattanoogan on Thursday, and then our Duff Goldman competition cake during the show on Sunday.  It's enough to make a girl pull her freshly colored hair right out!

So what's getting pushed to the side?  I suppose it will be the blog... but I did want to post something though.  I really wanted to show you my progress on the competition cake, but...

I found out recently at a wedding professionals meeting that a lot of the local bakers (my competitors and competition for the show) also read my blog.  I certainly don't mind, but since I don't want to give too much away, I suppose you'll all just have to live with this tiny slice of a teaser photo!

OK, so I really have to go now... SO much to do!  Toodles!!

In blog posts past, I have written about how much fresh flowers can affect the final vision of the cake.  So I decided to do a little "before and after" shot to show you what a huge impact they can have.  This could also serve as a example of how proper lighting can affect your pictures, but I digress (Grrrrr....).

The florals for this cake were provided by Helen Humphrey from Humphrey's Flowers.  She made the topper using two different types of orchids and fiddlehead ferns, which I just adore.  To put the fiddleheads in the cake, I simply snipped the ends and inserted a toothpick and then inserted the toothpick into the cake.

Our cranberry splash of color is just satin ribbon.  Remember my ribbon tip: wrap ribbon around a buttercream cake twice and it will keep the buttercream from seeping through and making the ribbon look greasy.

I have to admit when the bride first showed me a photo of (the cake that inspired) this cake, I didn't like it.  I'm a very orderly person and at first glance, the the piping on this cake is anything but orderly.

But I'm a big girl and a professional decorator, so I put on my big girl professional cake decorating pants and started piping (with a #1 tip).

If there's any way to pipe this thing orderly, I sure did it.  Droplets first, then then squiggles... I found a way to make order out of the chaos.  And the more I worked on it, the more it grew on me.  By the time I was finished, I was quite proud.

Is there a lesson to be learned from all of this?  Hmmm... we don't always get to do the cakes we want (or like) but you can always choose to have fun doing it and if you're lucky, wind up liking it in the process.

This post weekend I visited the fine folks at the Chattanoogan. This time my bride and groom had a very clear idea of what they wanted for their extreme groom's cake.

They wanted an upside-down cake!

Luckily, I had a whole year to plan and get ready for this one. Did I use it all? Of course I did!! I had my brother make another of his soon to be famous cake stands. A rod screws into the base and runs through the center of the entire cake. Small clamps attach just above tier 1 and tier 2 to provide about an inch of clearance, as well as supporting the weight of tier above.

The topper was made using triangles cut from modeling chocolate and dusted with various luster dusts. I think it turned out really cute, don't you?

Hi all! First off, I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas! I woke up early to find that jolly ol' Saint Nick left me some real treats under the tree! I don't know if I was THAT good!

This wedding cake goes along with the groom's cake from the last post. The Chattanoogan ballroom was decked out in full holiday trim and I thought putting the cake in front of the Christmas tree would really make it pop!

This cake is an elegant buttercream cake covered in buttercream dots, along with edible pearls and gold dragees. Te couple opted for cream cheese icing, which is SO tasty, but it weighs a TON! This was easily the heaviest wedding cake we have ever delivered in one piece.

The bride came up with the lights and the christmas ornaments that surrounded the cake. It was really a beautiful event!