PASTRYCHIK

An Affair to Remember

2012-02-25T05:36:00.008-08:00

We started 2012 with something new. On January 29, we joined our first ever bridal fair at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo. Here are some photos we would like to share. We did not know what to expect but just hoped for the best. To our surprise, we got such great feedback and it was overwhelming!

A photo of me with my table.

Cupcake Flavors:

Chocolate + Strawberry Buttercream, Vanilla + Vanilla Buttercream & Red Velvet + Vanilla Buttercream

Silver & Petals

Close up shot of the ruffle cake-- our most popular cake at the show.

My great set up crew. For the record, that flower in front of the table was not my idea. It came with the table from the mall. Ha!

My wonderful assistants, my family. I could have not done it without them!

I hope 2012 will bring us (that includes you!) more great opportunities and wonderful firsts. A prosperous new year to everyone!

Cashew's Tub

2011-08-12T21:22:00.004-07:00

2011 has been a good cake year for us. So busy that it's been awhile since I've updated my blog. There are so many cakes that I want to blog about but found this one that was drafted by never posted so here it is...

Expectant mother with her siblings and cake

I've always found baby shower cakes fun to make but I think this one is particularly extra fun. Janelle emails me all the way from Asia and asks me to make a cake for her sister who lives in the Bay Area and expecting her first child. Her only 2 requests: ocean animals and blue. With my thinking hat on, I came up with this tub filled with ocean animals and bath toys. Here are some details of the cake.

A closer look of what's in the tub

This photo courtesy of Janelle. Thank you for sharing!

And oh, have I told you I love it when customers give me free reign of the design? If not... I LOVE IT!

Bianca & Erik

2011-06-09T00:44:00.000-07:00

Bianca and Erik have been together for 7 years now and I've known them pretty much since the beginning of their relationship. So when the couple asked me to make their wedding cake, I was honored. Every cake I make is special to me but to make a cake for someone you know always makes things extra special.

To those who know Bianca and Erik, you know that they are not going to go for the traditional tiered wedding cake. Within the first few minutes of our consultation, they settled on a sculpted cake reflecting wine and cheese as their wedding will be held in Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa. I thought of wine crates, cheese, wine and Erik said "Mice!" I drew them a really rough sketch of what I would do for them and after which, did some research myself. My vision was further inspired by Gateaux Inc's perfect wine themed cake with their permission.

There were a lot of firsts on this cake: my very first sugar wine bottle, first time for me to use modeling chocolate on an entire cake layer, and first time to drive 4 hours to get to destination. Thank goodness my dear hubby was nice enough to drive!

Here are some details of the cake.

View of wine bottle with our own "lover's blend" and "caviar"

Personalized the Parmigiano Reggiano wheel with the couple's wedding date

Look at the bride and groom mice!

The beautiful and happy couple

I can't help but post a photo of the breathtaking view from the top of the winery. Photo courtesy of my sister.

To Bianca and Erik, here is one thing our best man shared at our wedding that I know you will appreciate humorouly -- "There are 4 rings to marriage: engagement ring, wedding ring, suffe-ring AND endu-ring". :) To the ups and downs of marriage life, through thick and thin, and to hopefully lots of little Eriks and Biancas...CHEERS!! Congratulations!!

The Amazing Mike

2011-06-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

Mike Mccarey of Mike's Amazing cakes is known for making exceptional 3 dimensional cakes that's totally out of the box. He's won several Food Network Challenges -- Elvis Birthday Cakes, Cartoon Cakes and Sesame Street Cakes to name a few. He was actually the first Food Network competitor that inspired me to give sculpted cakes a try and last month, I was given the opportunity to learn from Mike. He is just not amazing but A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! He is an excellent sculptor and such a speedee gonzales too! Most he has done was 70 cakes a week. Again, 70!! I feel his company name should actually be "Mike's Incredibly Amazing Cakes".

I took 2 back to back classes at Mike's. First was the Eiffel Tower Cake and let me just say, for a complicated looking structure, he made it quite easy yet still looking difficult to make! Here is a photo of me with the 2 Mikes and of course the cake.

As mentioned earlier, Mike competed on Food Network Challenge Sesame Street Cakes which is one of my favorite episodes. It was a fun episode to see Cookie Monster, Elmo, Oscar and a HUGE Big Bird! Who in the world can make a huge Big Bird cake in 8 hours on top of 2 other characters? Mike. So the second class is called Structures. He discussed various support structures to make 3 dimensional cakes and to culminate the class, we made our own mini version of his wining Big Bird cake.

In progress...

I could continue to talk about how amazing Mike's cakes are but more than just an amazing sculptor, was an excellent teacher. He was so nice, very patient, generous with information, thorough, and encouraging. Both classes were beyond what I expected. Bottom line: it was SO worth the trip.

Thank you for everything, Mike!

Hello Kitty aka "Kitty"

2011-05-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

When my Izzie was 2, she would call Hello Kitty "Kitty Cat". Little Annika who turns 2 calls Hello Kitty "Kitty!". So for remainder of this post, I shall refer to the famous cat "Kitty" since this is about Annika and her cake.

Here’s a little about Annika...she was born during spring time of 2009...she’s a cutie...and she LOVES "Kitty". So what would be a perfect cake for her? Hello Kitty that feels like spring!

Here is Annika’s special cake. Hello Kitty’s body is made out of rice cereal treats while the head is styrofoam covered with chocolate and fondant. Cake was chocolate with vanilla buttercream covered with fondant as well.

After the party, I got a sweet email from Annika’s mom saying how Annika loved it. Few weeks later, she shared some photos of Annika’s party. And she wasn’t kidding when she said Annika loved it! The photo below shows proof that she really DID love it.

Most people say kids are easy to please. On the contrary, kids these days are quite critical too! So I say they are actually the best critics. You get an honest opinion when you ask for one. I didn't ask for one this time but the reaction above says it all.

Ariel & Nemo

2011-05-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

You have probably seen a couple of my cakes with the name “Cayleigh” on it. This cake doesn’t have her name on it but it is for little Cayleigh. She turns 1 and celebrates her birthday with her brother Clayton at a local aquarium. To go with the underwater theme, her mom requests for an Ariel and Nemo cake.

All my cakes have always had gumpste, fondant or modeling chocolate figures. With this cake, I decided to make Nemo and Ariel (figures only, not the shell or reef) out polymer clay. It wasn’t easy as I thought but it wasn’t hard either. The hardest part really is kneading it. You really need to work it! It also attracts a lot of dirt so you have to keep your work area and hands extra clean. But the good thing about polymer clay other than it being a keepsake is you can add details to it even after baking. Of the 2 figures I first made Nemo and he originally looked like a tadpole. Seriously! But after the initial baking, I built it up and added more cheeks and it was then that he looked like Nemo.

Here’s a close up of Nemo.

And here are the cute celebrants! Happy Birthday!

Alvin Bowls to 40

2011-05-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

One of my regular customer's husband turns 40 and loves to bowl. Her request: a black bowling ball cake. And here's what I came up with.

I've not made a cake ball of this size yet nor have a covered one. It's not that big - 8 inch to be exact- but it is quite tricky to cover with fondant and more importantly, to keep it upright without having a flat bottom. The solution: styrofoam! And boy, was it great. But there still IS cake in there. 2/3 of it that is.

The little pins (yes, they're tiny)...I decided on them 20 minutes before pick up and I'm glad I made them. A friend of mine who saw the photo on facebook said she definitely will win and knock those pins out! Ha!

Okay, on to another cake story...

Natalie's Pokemon Cake

2011-05-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

When Pokemon was first introduced in the 90's, I recall it to be such a hit to youngsters as my my nephews and nieces were fanatics. They collected toys, games, cards and even traded. When I got a request for this Pokemon cake, I was actually surprised that he is still popular and kids still love the little yellow character!

Pichu

Natalie turns 8, loves Pokemon and knows what she wants on her cake: her 3 favorite pokemon characters and a big number 8. Her aunt and uncle got this special cake for her and she loved it. So did the other kids. I was told that before the balloons got on the cake, the kids had to have a taste of them and bite marks all around. Natalie on the other hand, was protecting it from all the other kids as you can see in the photo below.

This cake was simple to make: round covered with fondant and a cut out number 8. But I had to get my characters spot on since Natalie knew her characters. I took extra time to make sure they were as close the character. Natalie's smile tells me it was worth it.

Pocoyo!

2011-04-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Last year, I was given the opportunity to make Gabriel's baptismal cake. Now he turns 1 and his is wonderful mom, Katrina, decided on Pocoyo for his theme since he looks much like Pocoyo! I have never heard of Pocoyo till now and after watching a few videos and checking out their official website, I was sold.

Here is a simple cake I made for the birthday boy. Pocoyo is made out of rice cereal treats. The birthday cake beside Pocoyo is cake whose design is based on one of the show's episodes.

We can't leave the back part of the cake without a story. Here it is. We can't have a party without gifts right?

Till next time Gabriel, happy 1st birthday!

3 Days with the Master of Sugar Flowers

2011-03-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here it is...my 3 days with the ONE and the ONLY Ron-Ben Israel of Ron-Ben Israel Cakes.

Question and answer with Ron

Ron is known to the cake world as the master of sugar flowers. My 3 days in his class validates all rumors. He was amazing. His techniques and flowers were spot on. They were beautiful, graceful and so life like. But more than just sugar flowers, his cakes are amazing as well. If you have not seen them, it is worth the time to check them out. They are clean and precise, the way I would want my cakes to be.

I am an amateur when it comes to sugar flowers. My definition of flowers don't go past beyond the cut out flowers I made for my Tangled cake. I did take a class 15 years ago but I did not care for them. They did not inspire me. Ron's class completely changed my views on sugar flowers. I have an increased appreciation and the confidence to try them once again.

Here are some photos taken from class plus photos of the flowers I made. Well, what's left of them. Unfortunately, some of my flowers did not make it safely back particularly the roses (which were my fave!). I still wanted to share them just the same.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas, rose buds, peony and hydrangeas

My poor rose...

Ron's sugar flowers. The photo don't do it justice.

I pass!

Thank you Ron for sharing your talent. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. Thank you too to Minette Rushing of Custom Cakes for being such a gracious hostess.

Tangled

2011-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

I love it when kids personally ask me to make their birthday cake. My latest little customer is Victoria. A month before her 4th birthday party, she comes up to me and says: "I want a Rapunzel cake with long glowing hair!". And on another occasion, she made sure I would make Rapunzel's dress purple.

"Tangled" is my now new favorite Disney movie. It's funny, not too cheesy, and it's the first movie we watched as a family with my 3 year old. I was excited to do this special cake request but I was nervous at the same time. To make a character's face is difficult. Any person's face for that matter. So lets just say my brain was "tangled" for awhile. One of my favorite parts of the movie was the lantern scene so I went for the braided hair and of course, the lanterns.

Everything in this cake is edible. Well, except for the cake board, light and the stamen. So lets just say it's 99% edible. Rapunzel is made out of rice cereal treats covered with fondant and modeling chocolate. The base is a 12 inch round chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream. The lanterns are edible too! Victoria did request for glowing hair so to get as close to a glow, I applied some luster to the hair.

My 3 year old was my critic. When she saw bald Rapunzel, she said she didn't like it. She even showed me a face of Rapunzel! I got nervous! But once the hair was on, she said she likes it. Whew! I hope you all approve of it as well. It's not perfect but I tried my best :)

Happy 4th Birthday Victoria! Thank you for picking me to make your special birthday cake!

Sebastian's Skates

2011-01-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

My dear cousin Sebastian turns 8 and loves ice skating. He celebrates his birthday at a local skating rink and I was in charge of making his cake.

This "cake" actually served more as a centerpiece. The boot is made out rice cereal treats covered with fondant. The skull on the side is an edible image designed by my sister. The cake that was actually served was a 10 inch round chocolate cake filled with vanilla and strawberry buttercream, which also had the skull. We also had 3 dozen red velvet cupcakes iced with cream cheese frosting. The kids wanted to cut into the skates but my aunt wanted to keep it so no cutting happened.

Happy 8th Birthday Sebs!!

Lauren (Heart) Elmo

2010-12-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

Lauren turns 1 and she loves Elmo. Her mom, Jill, created a fun and Elmo filled party for her baby and having my cake be part of it was great.

Things that served as inspiration for this cake were Lauren's candy station banner, candies, and of course Elmo! This is my 3rd Elmo cake but know what, I love making Elmo cakes!

Below is a photo of baby Lauren holding her finger up just like Elmo. Isn't she a cutie?

Cat in the Hat

2010-12-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

Dr Seuss' "Cat in the Hat" now airs PBS Kids. Ben is one of this show's biggest fan so for his 3rd birthday, he gets what he loves. Ben is particularly obsessed with the Thingamajigger. But with a budget to work with, I thought of doing the cake this way to have all the characters including the Thingamajigger without going over her budget.

The TV screen was inspired by an icon on the Cat in the Hat's website with modification and hand painted with black outlines which is a Dr Seuss trademark. The screen, on the other hand, is an edible image. Cake is chocolate filled with chocolate mousse.

Ben and his Sister Rebekah were excited to see the cake and I was too! My 3 year old and I were happy with the cake turned out and couldn't wait for them to see it. We were all happy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ben! Till next year :)

2D Pablo

2010-12-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

A year ago, I made a 3D snowman cake for Bam-Bam's 2nd birthday. This year as he turns 3, we went 2D of his favorite character Pablo of Super Spy Backyardigan.

The cake was 12 inches high, chocolate cake filled with buttercream. Photo above shot at an angle shows the dimension of the cake.

Bam-Bam and his mom picked up the cake and it was great to see Bam-Bam's reaction. He loved it and exclaimed "Pablo!!!" with a big smile on his face. This is why I love my job.

Turntable Cake

2010-12-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

This cake was for my daughter's teacher's husband who is into music and his turntable. A photo of his actual turntable was given to me to replicate. I did the best I could to get as much details into a small cake to serve about 10 people. I was told he loved it and took out his other favorite thing-- his SLR camera with back drop and all and kept taking photos!

Tennis, Shopping and Fashion

2010-11-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

Jackie loves fashion, shopping and tennis. As she turns 16, her parents decides to throws her a surprise birthday party organized by Pinnacle Production Group.

A closer look of the bag

The bottom tier shows her love for tennis with a tennis skirt and balls. The top tier holds her favorite stores represented in their respective shopping bags and at the very top is a personalized bag inspired by Juicy made out of rice cereal treats. The cake was vanilla with chocolate ganache then covered with fondant.

Aiden loves Elmo

2010-11-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

Aiden loves Elmo. For his 1st birthday, his mom asked me to make a cake of Elmo with his piano. I deliberated between making a 2D cake but I could not resist making a mini set of Elmo's World, the show on Sesame Street that features Elmo and his piano. I did a rough sketch of how I would do it and my Izzie said she wanted that cake too! With that, I went for the set.

The cake is chocolate filled with mocha and vanilla buttercream, iced with buttercream as well then adorned with fondant accents. Everything is edible except the backing of the wall. Elmo's piano top needed to slant a bit and I know that for a fact since I just came from Elmo's World Live in Sesame Place, Philadelphia.

Happy 1st Birthday Aiden!!! Next time I'll tell your mommy not to hold back when you want to touch Elmo!

Emilio Rocks!

2010-11-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Emilio turns 4 and his awesome mom Trina creates a rockin' party for him filled with music and fun. Trina wanted a simple 2 tiered cake with subdued colors of avocado green and charcoal gray for her son's cake, inspired by a card she saw on Etsy. Here's what I came up with and I'm glad to hear they liked it!

Happy 4th birthday Emilio!

Movie and a Popcorn

2010-09-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

Enzo's cake
Disney themed with gumdrops

I have not made the same cake twice in years since everyone has different themes in mind. But this cake I feel is very versatile. With minor detail adjustments, you can personalize the cake to the celebrant's request.

Enzo turns 1 while Bella turns 10. When I got the request for Enzo's cake to reflect different Disney characters and with the budget she had, I thought of a movie reel and of course, we can't leave out the popcorn! Bella on the other hand, didn't have a particular theme in mind but was having a slumber party with 10 of her closest friends. With slumber parties at that age, you talk about your favorite shows or watch a movie. These cakes were only days apart and after showing Enzo's cake, Bella's mom wanted the same with a few changes.

Bella's cake
With her favorite shows, hand painted personalized m&ms

Some cake details up close

A lot of people have done their own version of a movie themed cake but if you're a cake maker reading this and you're given a budget for a cake with different elements, consider this. I think it works! Plus, I enjoyed every minute making those popcorn kernels.

My Izzie Turns 3

2010-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Photo taken at Izzie's school. Pardon the unedited photo.

One nice day months before her birthday, Izzie stands on a stool beside me, watches me work on a cake then tells me "Mama, I want Elmo standing cake holding Izzie's hand". I thought she would forget but on the contrary, kept telling me about it! How can I say no to that right? :)

My hubby was in charge of making the structure and I think he did such a great job. Thanks Hon!!

Both muppet Izzie and Elmo are made of the same structure just flipped around. Both then filled with rice cereal treats and modeling chocolate or fondant. Wish I did make Elmo a little thinner. First he looked like a dirty old man wearing boxers - yikes! But after putting everything on, he looked a little better -- now, a chubby little monster that's somewhat cross eyed wearing his goggles hehe! Izzie still loved it regardless. That's what matters. She loved her muppet too. She wants to learn ballet hence the tutu. And oh, here's the inspiration why Elmo's wearing scuba gear. We gave out fighting fishes with the Elmo background you see which was made my fab sister.

Izzie's fish. His name's Elmo!

Happy Birthday Izzie! Mommy and Daddy loves you!

Precious Cayleigh

2010-09-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Baby Cayleigh is welcomed into the Christian world with a cake that holds a Precious Moments inspired figure of a girl praying with a bear per request of her mom. Cayleigh's mom is one of my favorite regular customer and the best part is she leaves the design of the cake to me! Here's what I came up with, inspired by Dot and Grace of Cupcakes by Design.

The base is completely covered with pieces of fondant to embody a quilt. To match, I added a quilted heart on the top tier. Cayleigh's name is stamped with floral accents.

Welcome to the Christian world little princess Cayleigh!

Old MacDonald Had A Farm...

2010-09-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Little Austin celebrated his first birthday in Lemo's Farm (www.lemosfarm.com). What other way to complete the party with a farm themed cake!

Lemo's farm is known for their pony rides, petting area and their train ride. Since it was going to be costly to make a moving train from scratch, we opted to have Thomas the Train and tracks around the cake to go with the venue. Here are a few shots of the cake.

Ee i ee i oh!

And on this farm he had some pigs,

Ee i ee i oh!

And an oink, oink here,

And an oink, oink there,

Here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink oink,

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on this farm he had a horse,

Ee i ee i oh!

And a neigh neigh here,

And a neigh neigh there,

Here a neigh, there a neigh, everywhere a neigh neigh,

Old MaDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on this farm he had a chicken,

Ee i ee i oh!

And a cluck cluck here,

And a cluck cluck there,

Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck,

Old MaDonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm,

Ee i ee i oh!!!

Alison and Dave's Special Day

2010-08-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

I love weddings. I love the planning part of it, the day of and of course the cake! However, having a child and being around more of them now, most of my cakes have been children's cakes. This month though I was given a chance to work on a wedding cake and I truly enjoyed it.

Wedding cakes are so different from creating a child's cake. It is simpler design wise but the smallest detail you put on it I feel needs to be perfect and precise, which doesn't make it simple to make. And making it look cohesive and detailed but not overly decorated I think is important.

"Lace"

This cake I made for Alison and Dave was inspired by Alison's beautiful Monique Lhuillier dress. ML is known for using beautiful lace on her gowns and the signature ribbon tied around the bride's waist. So I focused on the lace and the bow for the cake. The bottom 2 layers of the cake being the "skirt", then the bow and working up to the "torso". The "lace" were hand cut pieces of gumpaste then hand piped with royal icing. I only had a small swatch of the lace which didn't give me an option to make a mold. I did some string work too to create the hem. Last minute I decided to add the lowest tier to elevate the cake and give me room to pipe the hem.

Jane Hammond events busy transforming the room

Congratulations Dave and Alison! Wishing you all the best and happiness.

ICES 2010

2010-08-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended my 1st ICES convention in San Diego . This year's theme was Hanging 10 in 2010. Each year, a cake decorator creates the main show cake for the event. This year, Susan Carberry of Cake Cottage created this ginormous and amazingly detailed cake as this year's ICES cake.

It was overwhelming to see hundreds of cake decorators, some coming for the first time while others veterans eager to see what's new in the business and to learn from the who have taken the time to share their talent. There was what they called a Cake Shack where decorators can bring in a cake to share. I wasn't expecting a lot of cakes since this was not a contest but surprisingly, there were a good number and they were from all over the world! I myself brought 2 cakes to share. The one seen above is inspired by geometric shapes and the Modern Art Museum. I wanted to make a modern showpiece worthy to call art. I do hope it is! The second cake below is inspired by tin lanterns. Both photos were by Stringer Photography, taken at the convention site.

Attending this convention was a wonderful experience and I hope to be able to attend more events like these in the future. The one thing I realized with this event is that there are so much more I need to learn, so many sacrifices to make and hurdles to go through to survive in this industry. Cake decorating is more than just a job or a business. It is dedication and passion that makes us do what we do. I admire the great ones out there and they are such an inspiration. I do hope to make it like them someday. When that will be, I don't know but it never hurts to dream right? :)

Scarface

2010-07-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

This was a cake requested for trainer who has a dog named Scarface (named so because of his scar looking white streak on top of his eye). Instead of going for a dog training theme, the customer decided on a more personal approach and focused on Scarface and his bowl of food.

Scarface's dog collar

The entire cake

The dog bowl is chocolate cake filled with ganache and strawberry preserves. The "dog food" are Reese's Puffs -- they're yummy and addicting! Around the bowl is Scarface's collar with his initials and name on it. And of course, we can't forget Scarface!

Kiss me Princess!

2010-07-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Princess Gene celebrated her ... :) birthday last month and as a surprise her cousin Wendy ordered this cake. She actually heard about me through Gene (she's actually my dentist!) and it was real nice of her to ask me to do this special cake.

Wendy requested a simple cake with a frog prince topper to be kissed by Princess Gene. She wanted the frog to be ugly but cute. I wasn't sure how this would turn out since I've not made a frog yet ever but I was happy to hear they loved it. Princess Gene was truly surprised and I am looking forward to getting her photo kissing her "prince" to add to this post. So stay tuned!

Maggie's Elephants

2010-06-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

To my readers, if you have been following me for awhile now (thank you!), I made a toy box cake for Mia awhile back. Mia Gabrielle, whose nickname is Maggie, turned 1 and with delight, I was asked to make her first birthday cake.

The theme of the party was elephants and balloons. I had free reign of what I wanted to do with the cake as long as it had elephants, balloons and simple. I decided to do tiers of the same size stacked randomly. I did have a little trouble with the fondant this time since I used a different brand of fondant which had some dried clumps! Ugh! But overall, the cake looked the way I hope it would.

Photo of the beautiful family with the celebrant

Enjoy your toddler years Maggie! See you soon!

Ria's Leotards

2010-06-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

This cake is for Ria who is a great rhythmic gymnast. She is actually getting this as an advance birthday present since she is going to compete in Prague. Her mom gave me a photo of one of the leotards she uses in competitions to replicate in cake. In reality her dress is filled with gems and rhinestones but for cake and budget, I had to hand painting the details and painting the yellow parts with gold dust for shine.

Side view of the cake

I truly enjoyed making this cake. It gave the chance to paint and pipe, 2 things I don't get to do much these days. I hope to do more cakes that involve a variety of techniques vs just figure modelling.

Mahjong

2010-06-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

My grand aunt came to visit us just this week and the day before she arrived was her birthday. We decided to throw her a small birthday party at a local restaurant and of course have cake.

There are only 2 things that my grand aunt loves: shopping and mahjong. I went for the mahjong since it's simple for the time I had to work on it and I know she'd love it over shopping. I am not a mahjong player though so I had to do a little bit of research. I was so glad I went for this. She was truly happy and so were the guests. This time the chocolate cake was filled with raspberry preserves and Chambord ganache.

Rusty Poo

2010-05-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

Rusty!!! FOOD!!!

Rusty is the family dog and he's loved by everyone. He originally belonged to my youngest sister then passed on for awhile from me to my cousin and is now finally with my other sister, Didi. Rusty now is their baby and he'll be moving to Philadelphia with them in a few months (sniff!). Last year for Didi's birthday, I made her a tennis bag cake (see May 2009 post, "lets play tennis"). This year, I could not think of anything Didi would like in her cake then I thought of their baby-- Rusty!

I dressed Rusty in a tux inspired by one he wore for my wedding. He was still a baby then and looked quite handsome in his little tux. With a day to work on this cake, I was on it. Luckily, Rusty was around while I was making the cake so I had him as a model. This is my first 3D dog cake so I'm not sure if I got him right. I for sure made him a little fatter than he actually is after I put on all the clothing.

Rusty with his look a like (I hope!) cake

Happy Birthday Sis!! We're going to miss you all when you all when you move to Philly. Who's going to have dimsum with us every Sunday when you leave? :(

Go Clayton Go!

2010-05-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Clayton turned 4 and had a fun celebration at Safari Run. As the name suggests, the place gives you a feel of the Safari with animal prints and stuffed animals. To go with the theme, my loyal customer who is Clay's mom got him a Diego cake and cupcakes with safari animal toppers.

These aren't good photos of the cake but I thought I'd share still. The cake is iced in buttercream with 2D fondant accents and airbrushed background. Cupcakes are 2D as well. I made 6 different animals for variety. Here's 3 of the 6.

Go Clayton Go! Happy Birthday!!!

Wiggles To the Big Red Car!

2010-05-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

"Toot Toot Chuga Chuga Big Red Car...We're driving near and we're driving far..." Having last song syndrome since I made this cake. Plus, my daughter asks me to sing it in the car too!

Jonas turns 2 and he's a big Wiggles fan. His mom decided to throw him the most fun Wiggles party and even asks the guests to come in their favorite Wiggles color. For his cake, they decided on the Wiggles' big red car though this one is actually quite small.

Greg, Murray, Jeff (sleeping) and Anthony

The car sits on a 10 inch cake with the Wiggles house as a backdrop. Everything is edible including the house. This car is my 2nd car cake. Being small, the way I carved this cake was completely different from my first car cake. The one thing they have in common is they're both red :) I wonder if the next car I'll make will be red too! I do think for next time, I'm going to need tips from the guru of car cakes - Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes. She makes the most amazing dogs, cars, food, and all other things you can possibly imagine.

Happy Birthday Jonas! Thank you for having us at your Wiggles party!

Optimus Prime

2010-04-06T13:02:00.001-07:00

I grew up with 2 sisters and have a girl for a child so I was never around little boy toys. The only time I got to play with toys for boys growing up was when I would go to my cousin Kris' house. If I recall correctly, the Transformers were one of the toys he played with (Kris, correct me if I'm wrong).

When my friend Cel wanted me to make an Optimus Prime cake, I was like...okay...who is Optimus Prime again? I had to walk down memory lane. After a bit surfing and googling, I found this good photo of Optimus Prime's face and decided to go for this with the cake.

Cel wanted a small cake good for about 10 people iced in butercrem. It was going to be a surprise for her hubby who is celebrating his 39th. I didn't want it to look like a child's cake so I kept the cake simple and clean with fondant decorations.

Happy 39th Alvin! Hope you enjoyed your cake!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Oh We Wonder What You Are...

2010-04-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

This baby shower cake is for Anna, who is expecting her unexpected fourth child. My aunt who ordered this cake from me, wanted me to portray the opposite of how Anna would be in times of chaos -- relaxed. So despite the spilled coffee, a child under the couch, the lampshade worn as a hat and a wailing little girl, Anna appears smiling and happy.

Anna with her cake

The toppers sit on a 9 inch chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. Here are close ups of the figures.

"Oh we wonder what you are..." Anna and her husband decided to not know the gender of their child. The words around the cake are the words on her invite.

Congratulations Anna! Should I say... may you have many more to come?? :)

Muppetize with Lauren

2010-03-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

I had an extra special birthday this year. First, my great hubby gave me four days off from being a mommy to attend the National Capital Area Cake Show (NCACS) in Virgina. It will be a first for me and I was so excited! And for the cherry on top of this cake, my mom paid for the trip as a birthday present! (wohoo!)

The highlight of my trip to the NCACS was meeting Food Network and TLC starts. But there is one that I was particularly eager to meet -- Lauren Kitchens of Fancy Cakes by Lauren. To those who don't know her, she is a Food Network Gold Medalist and known for muppetizing the judges at the Sesame Street Cake Challenge. She made an awesome Elmo which my 2 year old loves. We've watched that episode so many times but it never fails to put a smile on our faces.

Lauren has been giving Muppet 101 classes in cake shows and at Dallas' local cake shop. I wanted to fly to Dallas (my first home here in the US) to attend her class but time would not permit. And when I found out she was going to be in NCACS, I was ecstatic! It was her class that brought me to this event and it was worth it! I loved every minute of the class. She and her assistant Ashleigh were great. Mike McCarey (another decorator I look up to) was there to help out as well. They made all the students - experienced decorators or not- feel comfortable with what they are working with. To top it all, Lauren is one of the nicest, and down to earth person I've ever met!

Here are some photos of Lauren and her Norman Davis muppet of Sweet Life (by his request I think hehe!).

I decided to muppetize my daughter Izzie. She is a Sesame Street fan and I wanted to take back a nice present for leaving her for the first time all alone with daddy. I'm glad I did because the first thing she asked when she saw me was "Where's my muppet, Mama?". Here is my little girl and her muppet.

Lauren and me. I realized that my muppet was "screaming" so I did adjust her head when I got back to California (first photo above).

I have not taken a cake class in years. The last one I had was still in high school. People and everything around me has helped me with what I know but it was really nice to be a student again and learn new things from a fantastic teacher. Plus this was such a fun class! I hope to be given another opportunity like this.

I can't wait to make another muppet. Thanks again Lauren for such a wonderful class!

Shoes and Purses

2010-03-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

My first high heeled shoe in sugar. Not a size 7 or 8 but rather 1 3/4 inches! Anyone with this shoe size? These cupcake toppers were made as part of a Girls Night Out themed party. Purse made to match the shoe.

Zebra Print

Just Pink

Leopard Print

Alice In Wonderland Toppers

2010-03-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

Alice in Wonderland the movie is out in theaters. With this, I decided to post these 3 prominent characters from the original classic.

I made these cupcake toppers to be shipped out. Unfortunately, the buyer bailed out just days before shipping. Oh well. But it was fun making them. Maybe one day these little figures will find their new home.

Cheshire Cat

Rabbit

Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and Alice

Cayleigh's Care Bear

2010-02-27T23:51:00.000-08:00

Food brings people together and it goes the same way for cakes. A friend of mine from college contacted me years ago that she moved to the Bay Area after being newly married. Despite how small the world is, we never had a chance to meet up or bump into each other. This cake (and another one before this actually) gave us that chance to finally see each again after 10 years!

Celeste is having her second child - a baby girl - anytime soon. She was having a Care Bear theme baby shower party hosted by her good friend, of whom I've made a cake for as well. She requested for a 9 inch Red Velvet cake with coordinating chocolate cupcakes that had powers of the different Care Bears. I failed to take a photo of the cupcakes (with regrets!) but here are photos the cake.

A pair of Robeez with Share Bear's Powers

Cel specifically wanted a pair of baby shoes sitting on a cloud. I decided on border that embodied a rainbow and on the side, clouds with punched out hearts on some. I used different colored letter for the message just like the Care Bear logo as well. My little Izzie was the judge of this cake. When she said "That's Izzie's cake, Mama!", I knew she liked it and I was happy.

Border and side of cake

Can't wait to meet you baby Cayleigh! Congratulations Cel. See you soon!

Twilight Cake

2010-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Brianna is turning 13 and a huge fan of Twilight-New Moon. She found a cake she wanted online and had me replicate the cake in 2 layers vs 3 layers of the original design. I personally have not seen even one Twilight show yet (I know!) nor have I picked up one of the Twilight series book . After doing this cake, maybe I should!

The flower

I have not made a sugar flower in years. I believe the last sugar flower I made was in the 90's when I was first learning about cake decorating. I hope it's not that obvious from the looks of the flower above!

Chess Pieces

The chess pons are hand molded out of gumpaste. I didn't have a chocolate mold which the original designer used. The apple, on the other hand, is made out of rice krispies.

That's about it! Enjoy your teen years Brianna! Happy Happy Birthday!

Reese

2010-02-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Dawne is expecting her second child - a baby girl - anytime soon. She and her friends tuned in to their inner Martha Stewart and created a fun and wonderful brown and pink themed baby shower to welcome the coming of baby Reese Mikayla.

The cake of course had to go with the whole theme. Dawne wanted to have the baby sneakers I made for Cara (see older posts) without the blings, which she will also keep for Reese's bapstism or 1st birthday. This sat on a layer of chocolate brown colored fondant cake and a layer of polka dots in brown and shades of pink. It was a simple yet fun design I think. Kind of retro. What do you guys think?

P.S.

My hubby, who is my official photographer, was unavailable to take a photo of this cake. I took this one and it's not that great. Maybe I should think about photography classes!

Gumball Machine Cake

2010-01-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

Kids will always have a special place in my heart. I spent my high school and college free time making Wilton cakes for them. Seeing their eyes light up no matter how big or small their cake is makes every minute of cake decorating worth while . The story of this cake is another one I will not forget.

Janina is turning 10 and I was informed that they normally spend her birthday skiing since it falls right around Christmas time. This year she wanted to have party just to have my cake. No one in my lifetime has anyone wanted a party to have my cake! The theme of her party is candy. She is giving away mini gumball machines for favors so we decided to make a big one in cake.

Pouch is made out of rice krispies. Also served as the candle holder

"Bouncing" gumballs

The coin slot

The whole cake again

The top of the machine could have been bigger but that was the only one I found close to the size I needed. Till the day before pick up, I was still scrambling for the perfect top but they were either too big or too small. Hopefully I find the right one next time!

Happy Birthday Janina! Hope you liked your cake!

Pooh and Piglet

2010-01-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

My very first posting here on blogspot was a Sesame Street cake for Alex's 1st birthday. Alex turned 2 this year but it wasn't only her birthday but her mom's - Georgette- as well. Georgette actually gave birth to Alex on her birthday! Georgette and Alex is having a double celebration this year and since Alex is into Winnie the Pooh, here is their cake. This is partly inspired and with her permission by my friend Rouv who is a great cake decorator.

Pooh & Piglet

Details of the 2 tiers - 6" and 8" round chocolate cake

Bow

I had a day to work on this cake and I wish I had more time to fine tune some things. It's also my first Winnie the Pooh and Piglet gumpaste figure and I do hope it looks like them! My sister thinks Pooh looks a little Chinese heh. Since it is a mother-daughter joint party, I felt it was appropriate to have the two characters hug with two balloons for each one of them. Of course, we can't leave out Pooh's pot of honey and the bees which was Georgette's special request.

Till next time Georgette and Alex...Happy Birthday!

Winter Gymbo

2009-12-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

A very nice lady called me after my vacation from the Philippines. She apparently has left me a few messages while I was vacationing. She wanted a cake for his son turning 2. The party was going to be at Gymboree so she opted to do Gymbo the Clown who is the mascot of Gymboree. She provided me with the photo of Winter Gymbo and requested I replicate as close as I can in cake. Here's how it turned out. What do you think?

Santa Needs Help!

2009-12-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, I was in charge of desserts for our family gathering. I decided to do a tres leches cake which is a family favorite, hazelnut "kitkat" bars (another family fave) and a christmas cake in fondant. I did want to do a snow globe fondant cake from the beginning but the design I had in mind was too much work for the time I had left so I decided to go with this.

Santa hanging on...

The design is partly inspired by an actual snow globe I wanted to purchase. But since it's an unnecessary expense, I decided to just customize and make a cake inspired by it. The "globe" is a vase which I purchased in a local craft store. All decorations are made out of gumpaste. I had a lot of fun making this cake. I wish I had made Santa's bum a little bigger though! He was pretty lean.

Inside the globe

Another shot of the whole cake

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! And may you all have a happy and prosperous New Year.

Ben's Alphabet Cupcakes

2009-12-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Last September, I made cupcakes for a baby Rebekah's naming ceremony. This time it's for her brother- Ben who is turning 3. The night before I got an email from Ben's mom, I was actually thinking if Ben's birthday has passed or not. It's just one of those things I remembered from one of the conversation with Ben's dad, Andy.

Ben loves the alphabet and he loves his name too! Particularly the letter B. So the theme for his birthday cupcakes were the alphabet and the B. His mom Julie requested that I form the cupcakes into the shape of a letter B as seen above. Unfortunately, the cupcakes moved during transport after pick up and they had to be brought back to all be re-iced and cleaned up. Lesson learned: never form them into something with space in between for transport. And cupcake boxes with holders are the way to go!

This shot by me. Pardon the bad lighting.

Julie arranging the cupcakes to form a letter B

All photos except the second one above are taken by Andy at the party. Each and every cupcake had a different design representing each letter of the alphabet. They were quite time consuming but I was quite happy with the end result. My little girl loved them too!

Happy Birthday Ben! Thanks again Julie and Andy! Till next time :)

Enzo's Baptismal Gown

2009-12-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

This is a replica of what baby Enzo wore for his Baptism. His mom requested a blue and brown background either in stripes or dots but went for the stripes. I decided to add a touch of white after seeing how nice a set of baby bedding with the same color scheme.

Not much to say about this cake :P Welcome to the Christian world Enzo!

Mia's Toy Box Cake Part 2

2009-12-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share with you all Mia's toy box cake with the lights on.

Happy viewing!

Cara's Cake in 3 Layers

2009-11-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Last June I made a cake for my neice's 1st month celebration (see previous post). My cousin saved the shoe and hand carried them home to Manila so we could use it for the baptism. I didn't want to do the same one layer cake I did last time but they wanted to same look so here's what I came up with. I wanted to make it extra special, my being the godmother to Cara, by adding on a jeweled pacifier and rattle as well. It was simple, sweet and oh so pink!

Jeweled Name

The Rattle

Jeweled Pacifier

Hermes & Guiseppe

2009-11-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a good month break from Manila... home. It was very nice to see old friends and family, and to get some pampering too! While there I did a couple of cakes for family and here's one of them. Photo on top taken before we left for the party...bad lighting!

This cake was for my sister-in-law who was turned 50. She's always wanted a Birkin bag and loves shoes by Guiseppe Zannoti. Since we can't afford the bag nor can her kids, we decided to go with this for her cake. And the shoe was just an add on as well as the twilly, which is also a product of Hermes. To those who don't know (like me prior to doing this), a twilly is a small scarf with many uses. It may be tied around the neck, wrist, hair and even on the bag itself as an accessory. And oh, did you guys know that a Birkin bag is designed to be worn open? Yes, open. Now, I wonder why it comes with a lock? Heh!

The cake. Photo taken at the venue by my nephew Louie. Thanks Lou!

The Lock

Front Straps

Twilly

The Philippines is a hot and humid country being situated close to the equator. Having lived here in the US for almost 10 years, I almost forgot how humid it gets in Manila especially when it rains. Lucky me, just as I finished this cake, it rains! There goes my gumpaste bag straps! Hence the straps being interlocked vs upright which is how it's supposed to be. Both snapped and being few hours away from the party, my hubby and I fixed it by supporting with wires and patching it up a bit. The fondant was slightly affected too... see the ridges? As for the shoe, I made them a few days earlier which gave it time to dry some but it still started to get soft since the underside wasn't completely dry.

Designed based on an actual Guiseppe Zannoti shoe. All edible except the gems which are cubic zirconia.

My nephew Toby getting a head start on the cake.

My sis-in-law slicing the cake.

Thinking back it was a good experience to do a cake under different conditions. Next time, I think I know what to take back home... a dehumidifier!

Happy 50th Birthday Achi Jojo! We miss you all!

Jimmy Choo Shoe Cake

2009-10-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

The night before I got the order for this cake, I just had this urge to make a shoe out of sugar. I've never made an adult shoe before and thought to try just for fun. The next morning, I get a call from a very good friend of mine. She wanted a cake for an 18 year old who loved Jimmy Choo shoes. I had a day and a half to work on the cake and was a little flustered to start because I didn't have enough time for pieces to dry especially if I were to do a high heeled shoe. Browsing through their online site, I settled on this one. I can't afford Jimmy Choo's but if I did, I would probably buy this pair! :)

Here it is. The shoe box is the cake. Shoes made out of gumpaste.

For My Biggest Fan

2009-09-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

My daughter turned 2 the 18th of September and months before, I told myself that I will make Izzie the best Minnie Mouse cake I can possibly make. She is my biggest fan (aside from my hubby). When I work on cakes, even when it's not done, she always says "Nice cake!" It melts my heart!

Unfinished Minnie Mouse Cake

My hubby was my handy man for this cake. He helped me a lot with structural support. We went to our favorite store Home Depot and picked out different sizes of PVC pipes and connectors (I don't know if this is the right word for this). This is my first cake supported with such a structure and the biggest 3D cake I've ever made -- over 2 feet high. Luckily, my hubby was just as excited to work on this cake as I am!

The idea I had for this cake was for Minnie Mouse to hold a cake which Izzie will blow. As seen on the photos, she has one hand palms up. Unfortunately, since all of the weight gravitated towards the front, adding the cake will bear more weight and possibly make Minnie's torso split even with the suppport. There already is a small crack on the side of the dress and in the back which happened while finishing the arm and during transport. I had to settle on a cupcake and have the small cake on the side.

Minnie's head is made out of styrofoam. A very good friend of mine who just happened to be in town from the Philippines helped me carve the nose and part of the head. I then formed the cheeks and further contoured the nose and covered it partly with fondant and part with modeling chocolate. It was my first time to use modeling chocolate and I wish I had done more research on how to use it. I ended up with a bumpy Minnie face! :( It is said that modeling chocolate does not leave a seam when patched together. For the most part, I did not have one but on some parts, you could see where they were pieced together. I know better next time. IF there is a next time!

The body is made out of cake and rice krispies. I used 3 layers of firm cake filled with buttercream frosting then covered with fondant. Arms and feet were covered part with modeling chocolate and part fondant.

My Family :)

The cake that was supposed to sit on Minnie's hand

Donald Duck's Hat and Mickey Mouse Head

Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck's Bow

Goofy's Hat

I don't know if I can ever make this cake again and it is far from perfect but I am very happy that my daughter loved it. That's all that matters. She would kiss Minnie's nose before she went to bed and would wake up every morning, walk up to the cake and say "Minnie Mouse!". She did say once "WOW! Minnie Mouse! Big nose!" Haha! But right after, she said "Nice cake!" :)

I love you so much my Izzie bee and happy birthday!

Just for Fun

2009-09-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, there was a posting on youtube for a cake contest for cake decorators. I thought about it and I was like what the heck, lets do it for fun!

I did join a contest years ago when I just moved to the United States back in 2001 in Texas. Again, I did it for fun. One of the judges then was Kerry Vincent, who is now the judge for Food Network Challenge. I did not win then since I did not read the rules well. I used fake pearls which is a big no-no for cake contests. But the judges were nice enough not to disqualify me. They still took the time to judge my cake but they could not place me :( Kerry Vincent asked me to enter it again and just remove the pearls at the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show for which I signed up for. Unfortunately, 9/11 happened and my protective family prohibited me from attending for security reasons. Photo of the cake below. It looked good then. Now it really looks ... not so nice and so outdated! Ha!

The youtube cake contest theme was candy. You could use the actual candy, or replicate a candy in cake. I wanted to do something different and started browsing the net for ideas. I came across some Snoopy Russian dolls and loved it! That was then I thought of doing Russian dolls with the M&M characters on it.

I call my piece "The Search for the Missing Tomato". All pieces contain cake (just the bottom half) while the smallest one contains a hand molded tomtato M&M. That's where the missing tomato was hiding! This is technically like a cupcake holder. You could pop out the cake and still keep the shell. I still have these sitting on my dad's display case but I forgot to remove the cake that they got stuck onto the shell because of the heat.

I did not place the first time I joined a contest but this time, I am happy to say that I did.

Maia's Bear in the Garden Cake

2009-09-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

This cake is for a little girl who actually saw Mia's toy box cake. At the party, I recall a little girl asking for the teddy bear figure that I made. Later on, I found out that little girl was Maia. Her mom said that since that day she got the bear figure at the party, all she wanted was for her birthday cake to have a bear. We did several sketches and landed on this one. I don't draw well but she liked my sketch which had her name in a cloud.

Flower pot candle holder

Maia's house

Flowers...

Full view of cake

This is me covering the cake board with fondant

Soon after the party, I got a call from Maia's mom. They loved the cake and Maia didn't want the top layer touched so they took it home. I was happy that Maia was happy! :)

Happy Birthday Maia! So glad you liked your cake!

Welcome Rebekah!

2009-09-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

After seeing photos of the cupcakes I made on the previous post, Julie decided to give me a call and possibly order for her daughter Rebekah's naming ceremony which is equivalent to baptism in Jewish culture (we learn something new everyday!). It was really nice of Julie to gamble on my sweet treats without even trying them.

The theme of the event: polka dots, fuschia pink, lime green and flowers. We did decide to put some butterflies too to soften the whole look. Cupcake flavors include chocolate, red velvet, butter and strawberry chiffon.

Strawberry Chiffon Cupcakes with Strawberry Scented Buttercream

Ben with his Elmo cupcake

Ben and friends enjoying his special cupcake

I failed to take photos of these but Rebekah's dad, Andy, was so nice to email me photos the photos he took (and I didn't even ask!). I had the pleasure of meeting him recently too for another cake order a few days ago. Thank you very much Andy!

Birthday Cupcakes

2009-09-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

I've been so behind on updating my blog and I hope to catch up this week. Here's one to start...

I made these cupcakes for a group of people celebrating their birthdays. It was a mix of male and female celebrants so I had to think PARTY: cupcakes, cake, balloons, party hats and some burgers and fries!

Hat...

Care for a slice?

Or a whole cake?

Cucpakes...

Burgers and fries anyone?

Can't have a party without balloons!

Thank you to my friend Kay Anne who took all the beautiful photos.

Mia's Toy Box

2009-08-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, a very good friend of mine informed me that she wants me to do her daughter's baptismal cake. Of course I said yes. Immediately I thought of a toy box cake. With her approval I started to think. Toys, shoes, rug... my mind just kept on going.

I did my research to see who has made toy box cakes before. I came across one cake which I found to my liking. The lady who made it quickly became my friend and shared with me she did hers with styrofoam. Then comes the challenge for me to make it in cake. Plus I wanted it suspended just like a real toy box.

I headed off to Michael's, my favorite hobby shop in the world. Not surprisingly, I found what I needed: wooden balls, a piece of wood and non-toxic glue. I also had a pit stop at Home Depot to buy what I needed for the stem of the lamp. My daughter wasn't too thrilled to be in Home Depot though (she wanted to go to Babies R Us -- and she's only 22 months) but as soon I said this is like the store in one of her favorite shows Handy Manny, she was happy.

My daughter and shopping aside, here is the cake. I've not done this much figures on one cake in my cake life. As I was doing this, I just kept thinking of the kids saying "I want that!" Or "I want the bunny!". That kept me wanting to do just a little bit more. And I was so happy to hear that as I was about to cut the cake and to see the smiles on the kids faces as I handed them their own figure. I also thought of Buddy and Duff Goldman who on their commercials, say that they do cakes to make people smile. I hope there is no copyright for this because I'd like to say that too.

My favorite pieces: mini Robeez shoes and my rocking elephant

My little figures and the rug that took me 2 hours to make!

The lamp is a working lamp. Thanks to dear hubby for doing the wiring for me!

Welcome to the Christian world little Mia!

Graduation Cake

2009-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

A good family friend who is also like a little brother to me and my sisters graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I wanted to make him a cake but could not make anything too complicated because I had the ship cake to do as well. The 2 events were 2 hours apart too!

Everything is edible including the pencil. This is the first 3D fondant book cake I've actually made. The hat and pencil as well. The title of the book is hand piped. I have not piped much lately which I love to do so I decided to do so with this cake.

Congratulations Justin! Wishing you all the luck and success!

HMS Warrior Ship 1860

2009-08-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have never heard of the HMS Warrior Ship till now. I've been on a ship once before, a cruise ship that is. I remember it being big and grand but being me, what I paid attention to most was the food. You can say that I am completely ignorant of the parts of the ship. So when I was commissioned to make a cake for a lovely couple who just got married at the HMS Warrior and the groom is a sailor, I was glued to my laptop for days figuring out the ship. I didn't even know where the stern of the ship was. Now I know!

The official site of the HMS Warrior is www.http://www.hmswarrior.org/. I was probably the most frequent viewer of this site, viewing different parts of the ship several times a day. However, the site did not provide a photo of the entire upper deck despite them having a virtual tour on the site. I just kept my fingers crossed that things were in the right place. I kept thinking of Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes who always got to go to the site to see the actual piece before he worked on the cake.

Ultra mini bride and groom. I almost forgot this important element. I only had 10 minutes to make them and I somehow made it. But they don't look great but I tried my best!

The Figurehead

The Upperdeck

Another view of the upperdeck

Hard work paid off seeing the reaction of everyone who saw the cake. I recall walking in with the cake and the hostess jaw just dropped open. Servers and even the manager of the restaurant came over to see the cake and took photos. But best of all are the smiles I got from the happy couple. My body was exhausted but my heart was jumping with joy.

Congratulations Michelle and Nick! Wishing you all the best!

Johanna and Her Cake

2009-07-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Expecting mom Johanna was kind enough to let me post her picture with the cake I made for her. Again, congratulations Johanna and welcome Elizabeth Alexandra!

My Wedding Cake 2006

2009-07-22T13:55:00.001-07:00

Looking through old photos, I found my wedding cake. I literally tried to replicate the front cover of Margaret Braun's book, Cake Walk. I purchased the book long before I even got engaged. I just fell in love with the whole book!

Photo taken by Patrick Uy

Princess Baby Shoes

2009-07-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

This cake is for my niece Cara who just turned a month old. The shoe is actually inspired by a pair of kids converse decorated by the Posh Princess Boutique. To go with the black and pink scheme, I went for a pink bow with black stitching.

I'm happy with the way the cake turned out especially that I only found out about the celebration a day before. Thank goodness hubby was off from work too!

Happy Month Old Birthday Little Cara!

Oilily Diaper Bag Cake

2009-07-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the other of the 2 cakes I did this week. While other was "smooth sailing", this was was the complete opposite. It first started out well. I was a little behind because of my little girl but I knew I'd catch up of which I did. Day before this cake was due at about 3pm, I got the cake covered with fondant. I had the cake sit on a bucket since I had the other cake sitting on the turntable. As I was getting ready to start painting the cake, I must have accidentally hit the base board. It was such a blur but the next thing I know I see the cake FALL. Yes, it fell. Still on the table but the cake came off the board and my fondant work was ruined. My heart sunk. It being a bag, I had to do the entire cake over since the pieces are all connected.

The cake was due 4pm Saturday together with 30 cupcakes. I was rushing like crazy yet I failed to finish on time. It was suppose to be a pick up but I offered to deliver knowing I won't get it done on time. We (with hubby from work and baby in pj's) got to the venue 45 minutes late and I still had to put some details on the cake.

Exact words written on the changing pad that came with the bag. Contrary to what this says, I was actually stressed out and shaking writing this plaque because it was already 4pm! I guess this bag was sending me a message...

Despite the rush and the big disaster, things ended with a happy note. I did realize that I missed out on a few details that I had intended to put but everyone loved the cake. The biggest surprise for the expecting mom and guests was when she opened my aunt's gift, it was the diaper bag itself. Everyone said, "It's the cake!" :)

Cupcakes - simple as requested

Congratulations Johanna! Welcome baby Elizabeth Alexandra!

Ahoy There!

2009-07-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a set of baby bedding, this sailboat cake is one of the two baby shower cakes I made this week (even due the same day!). I enjoyed doing this cake. It involved a lot of planning and advance work but overall, it was fairly easy to decorate and "smooth sailing".

3 layers of chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream. Everyone's fave :)

Have a smooth sailing day everyone!

The Pastrychik Cake

2009-07-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to recreate the cake on the business card my sister Tara made for me and I finally got the chance to do so this week. It's similar to the cake I made for Izzie's 1st birthday with a different top. I was rushing to do this before I work on actual cake orders that I didn't sit to think about this cake and everything involved before working on it. I just grabbed a couple of pound cakes I had in the freezer and started working on it. Bad idea! Was so frustrated that I had to repeat the top portion three times! I wanted to throw this cake out the window! Ha!

Overall, I'm happy with how the cake looks even if it's not perfect. I'm glad too that I had to go through those frustrating moments which I should take note of for next time.

Have a great topsy turvy day everyone!

Pastrychik Updated Business Card

2009-06-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sister Tara for designing this beautiful card for me.

Cheese Please!

2009-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

"Super Cheesy!" according to my friend Janine. Days after I made this cake, I emailed these pictures to her as a virtual cake present for her 31st birthday, fitting to her wine and cheese party thrown by our friends. I did this cake mainly as a belated birthday present to my aunt and uncle who are cheese lovers.

This cake is inspired by one made by the Maher sisters of Chicago. I love their work and they've inspired me to do more work with airbrush. I've used airbrush on large areas before but now I'm trying to use it even on small details.

So the cheese... Amongst their favorites, I chose three: Gorgonzola, Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese and Manchego. I tried hard to make them look as real and thankfully, when my aunt saw them, she named them all right! As an added touch to the theme, I could not resist on adding a little rat inspired by Ratatouille's Remy.

Belated happy birthday Auntie Grace, Tito Miguel and Jann! Hope you all had a great cheesy one!

Reliving My Chocolate Days

2009-06-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Prior to having Izzie, my life revolved around chocolates. I supplied Draeger's in San Mateo for awhile and worked at Charles Chocolates in Emeryville. I had to stop working when I got pregnant because the smell of chocolate made me nauseous! That was January of 2006. I haven't made chocolates since then.

When I got the order for the truffles, hubby was not too keen about it. He knows how much work is involved and more so now having to take care of Izzie. But I just felt I had to do take it and I'm glad I did. Made me realize that I can do it and oh, how much I miss it!

"There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles." - Anonymous

Hectic Week

2009-06-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

CRAZY is the best word to describe my week last week. I had to fulfill an order for 150 pieces of truffles and 70 detailed cupcakes by Sunday for a good friend's wedding. So through out the week I had a daily agenda planned but then 6 p.m. Wednesday I got a call for a last minute order of a Strawberry Cream Cake and a couple dozens of truffles for a top executive of google (whose position and name I feel is not appropriate to disclose) to be delivered all the way to the city the next day! Miraculously, I was able to fulfill both orders on time! But I am EXHAUSTED with a smile :)

Here are photos of the cupcakes I worked on for my friend's wedding. I will do another post on the truffles in a bit. Three designs -- a bride, a groom and their initials S & A. They were a lot of work but lots of fun to do.

Happy Viewing!

VW Bug Anniversary Cake

2009-05-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

I've had my fair share of decorating different shapes of cakes from ovals to Mickey Mouse to 3D teddy bears. But they were mostly shaped out of Wilton molds. These days I've been checking out the works of great cake decorators out there and most of them carve their cakes. I've done one - a train - for a baby shower last April which I shall post soon. I've been dying to make a 3D car cake since I've never done one and finally got a chance when we were about to move temporarily to my mom's place.

I had a couple of leftover cakes in the freezer: one 8x8 and a small rectangular the size of which I don't even know since I rarely use that pan. I didn't want to have to transport the cake to my mom's house too so I TRIED to work quick between tending to Izzie, packing and cooking. TRIED because I failed to finish the cake! I worked on most of it before we moved but I just couldn't get it done. So sad to say, no one was able to enjoy the cake. I still wanted to work on it though for the purpose of practice. I even got hubby to work on it with me!

This cake isn't perfect at all. It's not as clean as I want it to be but for practice and a first try, I think it's decent enough to share to everyone. My hands were so shaky and was such in a rush that I didn't realize till after our move that my windows aren't even aligned! One thing that made me want to get this done quic--the headlights. I've been watching too much Ace of Cakes lately that I decided to add a little extra to this cake Duff Goldman style. We first sacrificed a little piggy keychain whose eyes light up when pressed. We got a little better after a few tries. Bought some wires, batteries, LED lights and a toggle switch to turn the lights on and off. While doing this I told myself: I wish I had paid more attention in Science class before! Luckily I have my hubby to thank.

I finished the cake the day before our 3rd year anniversary so I decided to incorporate it into the cake. On the license plate it says CA which is where we got married, 3 yrs, and 2006 which is the year we got married. Happy Anniversary Hon! Thanks for helping me make this cake :) Mwah!

My 2nd Figure

2009-05-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

My uncle requested a Tres Leches cake for his birthday. I usually garnish the cake with strawberries but this time I wanted to do something a little different. Since the frosting is white, I decided to go with one of his favorite sports - skiing.

I decided to practice on my figures. I was a little worried to start since it will be my first time making a figure standing. So have a few boo-boos here. "Uncle Fred" is a little bent since I didn't support his legs plus my hubby knocked it off by accident. Didn't have time to do another one so I decided to go with it. Good thing he's skiing! I know better next time. It's decent I think. I see a little bit of an improvement on the face but I still need more practice. I guess there's always next time! :)

Busy April

2009-05-09T23:34:00.001-07:00

April's always a busy month for me because my parents come visit. It was extra busy this month because I had to do 3 cakes on top of the daily house chores and tending to a 19 month old on her terrible twos stage. Made 1 for my dad, 1 for my sister (the tennis bag in my previous post) and another for a friend's daughter turning 2.

My Dad's Cake : set up based on my parent's house (thanks to my sister who helped me paint the scenery, my sister's dog Rusty, my dad's mobile phone and his favorite books (guns and cars). It was is big 60th birthday so I decided to do something more than his favorite Tres Leches cake. I've done gumpaste animals before but it's my first time making people figures and I was quite happy with how it looked. I could do better I know but I guess it's good for a first try :)

Sesame Street Gift Box: inspired by a cake I saw on flickr.com awhile back. The mom of the little girl wanted the street sign on the cake so I decided to have it as a gift tag.

Lets Play Tennis!

2009-05-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

While I have the time, I'm posting a couple of cakes both tennis in theme.

The tennis bag I made for my sister's 30th birthday. It's my 1st bag cake and I'm pretty happy with it though I know I could have done more. She loves blue hence the color and daschunds hence the bag tag (she actually has the same exact tag). This cake was also the thickest cake I've made - 6 inches high - 3 layers: two layers of my mom's famous chocolate cake and one layer of butter cake as requested by my sister, vanilla buttercream filling. Made the tennis balls out of rice krispies. It's my 1st time working with rice krispies and had trouble getting the fondant to stick at the start and not having the krispies bump but after a couple of tries, it all worked out.

The tennis racket I made for a friend's hubby who likes the color green and play tennis of course. Carved the cake out of a 9x13 cake. Again, chocolate cake (everyone just loves this).

Happy viewing!

Cakes, Cakes, Cakes!

2009-05-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

My sister urged me to start this blog to share to everyone my sweet works of art. I'm a little hesitant since I feel I'm so behind amongst the great cake decorators out there. I did start when I was 15 with Wilton cakes (back then it was a new thing, but note: I'm not that old haha!) but stopped in between for a good almost 9 years. I'm trying to catch up but it's going to take me awhile being a full-time mom with a 19 month old. A cake that I can do in a day now takes me 2 days to get done!

Here is one to start. The first cake I've done this year. It's for a good friend's daughter who turned 1 last January. Chocolate cake with buttercream filling. Characters made of gumpaste.