Shoe Cake

     made this cake for clients that I absolutely love to work with.  A cake is a very important thing for them when it comes to celebrating.  I went back and forth with the client choosing colors, style and ideas.  she sent me a picture of a designer shoe she loved and I said I would try to replicate it out of sugar.  The shoe had crystals so I made gum paste swatches with different edible finishes that were similar to the bling on the shoe.  To make this story short, the client loved it when she saw it and I was ecstatic!  The bottom layer is red velvet with cream cheese frosting and the top is my moist guava cake

 

Coca Cola Classic Cake

OMG!  Did I have a blast making this or what? The client wanted to surprise his girlfriend's mother that happens to love coke.  He challenged me by saying that he wanted me to make him a cake in the shape of a Coca Cola bottle and I said" "heck yeah".  I love, love to make 3D structures out of cake.  Let me tell you, this cake was carved out of 5 6 inch cakes that were carved into the bottle and the peak was RTK all covered in fondant.   In the picture the cake looks small, but in reality it was 17 inches tall.  When the client came to pick it up he said he didn't think it would turn out to be as big as it was.  I was truly happy the way it turned out.  the flavor was Leelee's Specialty rum cake with dulce de leche filling.

Pokemon

I was so thrilled when I was asked to make this cake. The client had an idea of what she wanted and sent me several pictures of which she wanted separate elements from.  I really don't know much about Pokemon, but when I have a cake to do of something that is very popular and I don't know much about it, I do some research.  Did you know that there's a gazillion Pokemon characters?  I feel bad for the parents that would have to purchase all of these for their little one's collection.  It should truly cost a fortune! lol!  Anyway, I made the little characters out of MMF with Tylose. The client wanted the child's name in Pokemon font, so I downloaded the font  and created it then in photoshop to give it a little twist and cut letters out in yellow and then in a deeper blue.  I was happy with the result.  The ball is made out of yummy Leelee's specialty vanilla with dulce de leche filling as well as the bottom cake,   I also made cookies for this client. Her hubby came to pick up the cake and he looked really worried.  I asked if he liked the cake and he said: "OH, yes, I'm just concerned that it will arrive in one piece".  I assured hime that if he drove safely there would not be any problems. He smiled and left.

                                  

Tinkerbell (another one)

To me this cakes as many times as I have done it, does not get old.  I love the colors!  This one was a bit larger than the other one's I've done lately, but in the same colors.  The client wanted it to look very girly!
Everything, but the Tinkerbell (candle) is edible. The flavor is Leelee's Vanilla specialty.

Mickey's Playhouse Cake (Another one)

Ok, so you may be thinking: "hello!  you've posted that cake several times before! Give us something new!"  It's a bit different than the other ones I've made, I promise.  Hey, it is a popular cake right now and if a client wants it, what am I to do?  I think I can do this cake with my eyes closed. lol!  It's always fun to see the clients face when they actually pick their cake up.  It doesn't get old for me.  Although it is something I've done again and again, for each client, it's something new and wonderful and just what they wanted.
 The flavor of this cake is Dominican with MMF.  Thanks for looking!

Arabian Night Quince Cake

This client is the niece of a very dear friend of mine since high  school.  She wanted to make a cake for her little sister that was turning 15 and was worried because she had to drive the cake from Miami to Fort Myers.  I would say it is a good 3 hour drive from where I live.  The cake was intricate in it's design.  The top and bottom layers are six inches high and the middle layer is 4 inches high.  The flavor is marble with vanilla bean buttercream filling.  The number is made of equal parts of fondant and gumpaste and molded by hand.  the swirls are made of royal icing and gilded in edible 24 Karat gold. I made sure that the cake was sturdy enough for the ride reinforcing it with wooden dowel rods. I loved the colors the client selected" a deep purple, a pretty electric blue, and a fuchsia.  The cake had shimmer on it, but you can't really see it in the picture. I helped place the cake in the car at 7 am Saturday morning and literally prayed that it would make it in one piece.  I have not heard from the client yet, but believe everything went well.

Organic, Chevron Baby Shower Cake

So I get a call from this lovely young lady telling me that she wanted me to make her sister's baby shower cake, I immediately said yes because I had made her sister's wedding cake too and I just love this amazing family.  I had received an invitation to the shower, so in my head I thought the cake would look similar to the invitation.  I was blown away in a good way when I saw the design of the cake.  Apparently it had nothing to do with the theme, only the colors selected were the same as in the invitation, but me being an artist and knowing that all of them are too, I knew that they had something up their sleeves and it was going to be fun to see.  The design of this cake looks so easy, but let me tell you, it was a challenge, because I do things in a very free form way, without rulers or measurements. I just eyeball things and that's it. Having said this, if it doesn't look right I will do it again until it does.  I am a perfectionist by nature and this gets me in trouble.  Anyway, I wasn't going to be able to be free in this case at all.  Thank God I had  good grades in geometry! Surprisingly the only "number" subject I actually liked in high school.  I did some measurements and calculations and got the chevrons evenly spaced up and down and all around!  The client came by to pick it up and loved it. I showed her some cake bases to put the cake on and she chose the same one I had thought of.    A couple of hours later I arrived at the venue where the shower was held and absolutely loved all of the details of the decor, the beautiful colors and the organic feel to it all.  When I took a look at the cake, I said: "I knew it!" They had decorated the cake with some organic materials and added a nest on top as if they were saying that it would soon be filled with the precious baby!  Hey, this is art, people!  It was like looking at a painting and interpreting what the artist was saying with his creation.  Just like their wonderful wedding, this shower was filled with lots of love.  I enjoyed seeing the dessert table with the goodies that the future grandmother made.  She made choco oreos and cake pops in blue and yellow.  Beautiful!  You could feel the warmth in the place.
Anyway, my cake was Leelee's specialty vanilla cake with nutella filling.  Some people at the shower asked me for my number and said that not only was the cake beautiful e, but that it tasted delicious too.  Yey!!!!

Hello Kitty

This client found me I think on my FB Page or this blog, I'm not really sure.  She called me and asked me to make a cake for her exactly like a picture she sent me.  This design is somebody else's and I just replicated it. I normally like doing things a bit different to personalize my work, but this customer wanted tan exact replica, so much so that she asked me if that would be a problem for me. I said no because truly the cake was very simple to make.  It was a pretty cake so I did not mind replicating it.  The flavor of this cake is Leelee's Vanilla with dulce de leche filling.  Yum!!!!  When the client came she really took a look at the cake and said: "Perfect".  I really wasn't worried because it looked exactly like the picture. 

Tinkerbell Cake, Cookies, and Cupcakes

I love making goodies for this client.  She reminds me so much of me when my girls were little.  Their birthdays, even if they were small celebrations, had to be detailed.  She is a scrapbooker like me so she is into little details which I love.  She wanted Tinkerbell cookies that had Tinkerbell on them and offered to lend me her Tinkerbell Cricut Cartdrige for me to use with my Cricut Cake.  Let me tell you, it was a royal pain in the butt to cut them.  Easier said than done, but I was so determined to make my friend happy, and me being as stubborn as I am, that I tried and tried until I got it! The only thing was getting Tink's eyes right without her looking like she was demon possessed, so I had to use my handy dandy edible markers that I only use for details.  Don't really like the painted look, I prefer to piece things with the colored fondant because it looks more professional, but for something as small as this it really worked.  Tinkerbell looked like herself, no exorcism required, lol!  The cake was a small 6x6 cake for the birthday girl, 24 cupcakes decorated as a garden with flowers, and the infamous cookies that came out so pretty.  When my friend picked up her baked goodies, her face lit up!  She knew her precious little girl would be happy!  Yey, love happy endings!

The Cake

The Cupcakes

The Cookies

Dominican Themed Cake

This is what I call "Dominicano hasta la tambora"!  This client called me and asked if I could do a Dominican themed cake.  She sent me a picture of the invitation she had made for her husband's 35th birthday.  I'm happy she sent this to me because the only thing that popped in my head was the flag. lol!  I got inspired by the instruments that actually make the sounds and rhythms of D.R.'s music; una tambora (drum), una güira, (don't ask, it looks line a grater to me), and an accordion.  With these three instruments you can play the oh so popular merengue.  So I pulled up some pictures from the internet of these items and went to town with my MMF with Tylose and created the flag, and instruments.  Then the client called me and asked me to leave space on the cake for a "diablo cajuelo".  I had no idea what that was.  I just heard "diablo" and I was bent of of shape, but a good friend of mine told me what it was.  It is a person dressed as a diablo or demon and comes out at the dominican carnivals.  I left the space for her to add it.  Anyway the cake's flavor is dominican with almond chantilly filling.  Delicious!!!!!  When the client picked up the cake, she was really pleased and I was happy...and here it is...

Gerbera Daisy Cake and Dessert Table

My first born turned 21 and she wanted a party.  We debated as to what kind of a party it would be and we decided on a small, close friends and family party. It's funny,  the family was missing in action, the only family I can really excuse is my family that live in the North East, but such is life, It's a matter of priorities. Hopefully we have instilled  our kids with a better concept of what family truly is. Anyway, We had some finger foods, an amazing DJ with a great mix of dance music and Ashley's request for a dessert table.  I created her invitations, The cake,  and all the goodies.  My baby girl had a blast and made me melt when she told me she was blessed to have a mom like me. Party  colors were: Pink and Orange

The Dessert Table with all the goodies

The Cake that we designed with flowers my daughter, Ashley and I made out of gumpaste. I love how this cake turned out! Flavor was Orange-Coconut. 

A closer look at the details

People actually thought the flowers were real, yey!

Yummy Orange and Strawberry gummy wedges

Grand Manier cupcakes with strawberry & Citrus frosting! To die for

Marshmallows Dipped in white chocolate dipped in sugar crystals

Brownie Pops covered in tinted white chocolate

Strawberry and Orange Vanilla cookies

These had to be present - Chocolate Covered Oreos

The Invitation

The Royal Family

Blossom Quince Cake

Close to 17 years ago I made a wedding cake for a couple.  Their wedding cake had columns, a water fountain and all those things that were super cool in those days, but if used today they would be considered tacky as heck! Every time these clients have a big event in their lives, they call me and ask if I still make cakes and up until now I have said yes, although I took a break for a while. Well, how time quickly flies! Their daughter turned 15 and guess who they asked to make her cake?  Yes, you're right! Me!  I was so happy to once again see this couple and felt privileged that after all these years they still sought me out to make such a special cake for their only little girl.  I feel so blessed to have people that entrust me with things that are so special in their lives.

The cake is off white with sage green branches and peach colored flowers. The number is made out of Tylo and brushed with pearl dust to give it a sheen.

The flavor of this cake is Moist Amaretto covered in MMF.  

Ladybug Baby Shower Cake and invite

Every once in a while I will do some graphic work for family and friends, never for clients. I don't want to put my hands in so many things like I have in the past and be overwhelmed. I designed this card for a girl's baby shower and she loved it.  I am just putting it up here to share.  No, I will not do these for clients. lol! Too much stress!

The cake I've done several times and if you search under ladybug, you will see different versions of it.  Super cute for a shower or a little girls birthday.  The flavor is marble cake with vanilla buttercream covered in MMF.  I truly enjoy making the actual ladybug part of the cake.

Little Mermaid (total client disappointment)

I always post happy stories of clients being so satisfied with my work. Let me start by saying that this cake highly disappointed the client who ordered it.  At first I thought she liked it because she left with it and did not say a word.  I asked if she liked it and she said yes.  I was thrilled to have made another customer happy.  To my surprise, a while later I received a text from the client telling me how she had expected something else.  My heart sank and I was shocked by it.  I did not know what to say, so I swallowed my pride and apologized.  The part that really hurt me was when minutes later she added that the recipient of the cake thought an amateur had made it.  I was floored and so many emotions gushed through me, I had already had a hectic and crazy week and was battling some internal issues, aside from the fact that I was up to my nose in cake orders. I wish that part would have not been shared with me. I felt it was mean. It still resonates in my head.  It made me cry for a bit and for an instant the remark made me feel inadequate, a feeling I thought I had overcome so many years ago. I wondered what went wrong.  I dedicated time and effort to finishing up this cake as I do with each and every one I do.  Then it hit me.  I had said no to making this cake because truly I did not have the time.  The person insisted so much that I obliged.  I didn't dedicate time to speak to the client and really listen to what it was that she wanted as I do with every client. I just heard Little Mermaid and I proceeded to do her.  See, I am so used to hearing clients tell me, "hey, do what you want, I trust you", but I always talked to them, interchanged ideas, etc.  I simply did not have the time to do that, and although I disagree with the client as to my work looking like an amateur did it, I must say that I truly did not talk to her about the design she really wanted.

Lesson learned:  Never overbook myself even if it's my mother begging me to do so.  Always have clear conversations with clients of what they want and put it in writing.  Continue working with excellence not letting rocks that I encounter along the way be stumbling rocks, but allow them to be stepping stones that will make the craft that I love so much become better.

Minnie Mouse Cake (Simplified version)

A client sent me a picture of a similar cake.  She wanted this cake for her granddaughter's first b-day.  I have made a similar cake with the minnie hat on top, but I think this concept is cute too.  I love this client! Every time she has a special event she calls me to make her cakes.  It's always great to keep clients happy, they keep coming back over and over and highly recommend you to others.

Hello Kitty Cake

I've done this cake a many times, but I made it again so I'm posting it! lol!

Speech Language Pathology Cake

This was an interesting cake to do.  The client graduated with a Master degree in S.L.P. and wanted a fun cake that depicted this.  Yeah, If you don't know what it is for, it seems a bit strange.  She wanted it to look glittery and feminine just like her.  I also made lips and ear cookies for her.  When I delivered the cake she was arriving as well to her party and she was thrilled.  The flavor was Leelee's specialty vanilla with dulce de leche filling, covered in vanilla bean buttercream and fondant.  The cookies are vanilla flavored.

Hello Kitty Cookies

These are also elements I made on the weekend. Vanilla butter cookies 3 inches in diameter more or less.  I think they look adorable! Great to give out as favors at any girlie party! Thanks for looking!

Corset Cake

Vavavoom!!!  This cake is great for many occasions.  I actually made it for a birthday, but it also works for a bridal shower or a bachelorette party as well.  The flavor is all vanilla with vanilla bean buttercream covered in MMF.  The mother of the birthday girl (an old friend of mine) loved how it turned out. Yey! Another happy client!

Cuban Themed Cake

I loved making this cake!  The client wanted to surprise her husband for his birthday.  She also sent me a picture to give me an idea of what she wanted.  The flavor is marble sponge with chocolate ganache, covered with MMF.  All the elements of this cake are edible.  Huge 14x14 square and the smaller square is a 10x10 square.

Mickey's Playhouse (another one)

This has been a very hectic and crazy week.  I had three big cake orders plus Hello Kitty cookies.  At one point I thought I had bitten more than I could chew, but realized that I had the time.  It was just a matter of organizing myself and not letting myself get overwhelmed (it also helped that the hubby assisted me all the way).  This cake was for a returning customer.  She sent me a picture of what she wanted (this design is not mine). I changed a couple of things not to copy it 100%.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  When the customer picked it up she was super happy.  The flavors are alternating tiers of red velvet with creamcheese frosting and Leelee's specialty rum cake.  All covered in MMF.  All the elements on the cake are edible. Huge cake!