My Kind of Advertising

May I just suggest that if you are thinking about starting your own small business I cannot recommend listing on Yelp enough. I have been amazed at how many calls I've gotten just for a simple free listing. One such phone call last week landed me a cake order from my first out-of-state customer. A man from New York called asking for a camera cake for a potential client. At first I was very skeptical and the chatting in the background coming from the other line made me question whether it was a scam. But a few days later I received payment for the cake and happily commenced cake construction. The recipient is a photographer and creator of one of the largest and most renown photography information websites on the planet. I was pleased to see that he was pleased by the creation of my camera cake.


The inside was a chocolate fudge cake with Nutella filling and chocolate frosting. I used black fondant to cover the cake. I included the logo of the business whom purchased the cake in the digital screen display. My second camera cake so far and it certainly got a little easier the second time around. I did not freeze the cake as most are in the habit of doing when sculpting cake, but the cake was dense enough that it held its shape exceptionally well. 

I took the picture before adding some of the last minute details. I included the Nikon logo on the front above the lense and a few other bells and whistles.

Chinese Brush Painted Koi Cake

Chinese brush painting is one of the earliest art forms known to man. The earliest brush painting is said to be dated as far back as 4000 BC. First though of as a craft, brush painting served a utilitarian purpose of documenting cultural and social examples of the times as well as demonstrating the use of symbolic references in nature. The koi fish is one such symbol created many times over the centuries. A symbol of good fortune, hope, prosperity, and wealth, the koi fish is one of the most painted natural symbols in Chinese brush painting.

I had the privilege of creating a birthday cake for a woman who enjoys reviving the ancient art of Chinese brushwork. Here was my ode to one of the oldest art forms on the planet. The artist is pictured at the left holding the cake server.

                             

The cake was a lemon cake rolled with fondant. The lily and pad were made from gumpaste and the fish were hand painted with Americolor gel food coloring. To achieve that watercolor effect I thinned the gel coloring with vodka. One could use any sort of spirit but vodka works best because it doesn't have a scent. Another alternative would be lemon extract.

Classy Yellow Engagement Cake

Yellow and white have had quite a historical love affair over these past centuries. In the earliest of times they were paired textures of brocade and lace or in damask wallpaper.

Later in the mid-century modern era we found yellow and white in Eames furniture and Wasily Kandinski paintings.

Today it reappears in fabric prints, clothing, furniture decor, and of course cakes.

This week's cake was a lemon coconut cake with french vanilla cream frosting. The outer adornment was festooned in canary yellow fondant, white gumpaste flowers and ribbons. 

Bows are fun to make and they add a nice elegant touch to any cake. I recently learned that while most bows are made from fondant, its best to use gumpaste if using other adornments in the same white color to color match. The flowers are white tiger tulips with yellow stamens, and each bloom was cut using flower cutters and their shape and detail created from a flower veiner and dried on large soup spoons. 

Cleopatra and the Blossoming Egyptologist

This week I had the privilege of creating a birthday cake inspired by Cleopatra and the Nile for a little girl aspiring to be an Egyptologist. When I was ten I remember wanting to be a veterinarian, doctor, scientist, and artist (usually in the same day). There aren't very many children who know what they want to do with the rest of their lives at age ten. I fortunately was able to meet such an inspiring little girl.

The cake was a three-tier chocolately-chocolate covered in fondant. The reed grass and papyrus was made of gumpaste and Cleopatra was carved from rice krispy and modeling chocolate and dusted in gold luster dust. The hieroglyphics were hand painted and the top of the cake was also made from rice krispy which helped to keep the top light. I copied the hieroglyphics from the internet which worked in my favor because I later found out that the budding Egyptologist dabbles in a little hieroglyphic reading. This cake was one of my hardest to date but also the most fun.