Michael Turns 50!!

Characature of Michael Sitting on His Espresso Cake

Michael and His Cake

Michael and Rosa

The Ruggiero Family

Michael's Cake

I love love love coffee! So for this coffee lover, creating a cake for the owner of Caffe Sacco was as the kids would say..."The Bomb!"
Rosa...Michael's lovely wife asked me to create this cake for her hubby Michael who turned 50, for his surprise party held at The Inn at New Hyde Park.
She told me a little about Michael....and her vision for his cake, and right away we knew what to do.
I searched his website for Caffe Sacco  to get a feel for his style...It's a beautiful website by the way. There was a poster pic of an espresso cup with coffee beans and from there I got inspiration to create this cake.
Rosa mentioned that Michael had just opened an Italian Restaurant...Mr. Joe's, and would it be possible to represent that on his cake. This again...was not a prob! The pic on the menu on the cake is actually their logo. Very dapper don't you think!  I will most definitely be visiting their new restaurant!

Wishing Michael a Most Happy 50th!

Deeana's Louboutin

Characature of Deeana and her Martini Glass Sitting on Top of Her Louboutin Shoe Box

Deeana Before Her Party with Her Louboutin Cake and an Artist's Rendering of the Signature Black Louboutin Pump

Louboutin Cake Center Stage

Turning 21 and getting a pair of Christian Louboutin's! Sweet!!! Pun intended!
I have been creating cakes for various members of Deeana's family for the past couple of years now. Every time...it's an exciting project. This latest one, a black signature pump with the red sole was a great project.
This is what I love about being a cake designer....every project is different and I get to meet great people!!!!! AND IT'S ALL HAPPY!!!!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY DEEANA!

Gianna's Surprise Juicy Couture

Juicy Couture Handbag with Side Bow

Heart Key Chain Charms Handcrafted by Theodora

Talk about success surprises! Gianna's mom called me several weeks before Gianna's 13th Birthday to order a surprise cake for Gianna. Of course as with all consultations we talked about Gianna's favorite things....and Juicy Couture is one of her all time favorite designers. I have to tell you...the bags are really pretty!

Lisa didn't want Gianna to get a whiff of this surprise cake in any way, shape or form.

So we made arrangements for the cake to be dropped off at her neighbor's house....who by the way happened to be my daughter, which made it even easier.

On the day of delivery...which was to be before 12pm...I received a text from my daughter...."Are you on your way?" I was on the LIE!

Plans had changed...I was NOT to bring the cake to Maria's house...BUT to meet Lisa in the parking lot of the Apple Store at the Americana Manhasset Mall.  She was driving a black Cadillac SUV.  Okay...I'm thinking to myself...this is an espionage delivery.

No sooner do I pull into the lot...there she was...Lisa...with her trunk door open....the cake just had to get into the trunk...a.s.a.p. She didn't want to take any chances of Gianna seeing the cake!

"It's really hard trying to surprise Gianna!"

Quickly...we...my daughter Theodora and I handed over the cake to Lisa. 

She had Stefano...her youngest son sit in the back to watch the cake...as seen on those tv shows...He jumped at the opportunity...What kid wouldn't? Wish I had taken a pic of Stefano and the cake.  And after kiss/kiss/hug/hug....off I went back to Queens....and back to her sister-in-laws house went Lisa.

The surprise party was a success from what I heard...Gianna was very surprised with the party and her Juicy Couture Cake!

Momma Lisa!!! You did GREAT!

I have to say....this was the most fun delivery I've had to date!



My Melina Turns 11!

Paint Splash Topper Cake for Melina (Splat's inspired by Anne Heap)



Melina's Paint Palette Cupcakes

 

What a fabulous time had by all at Melina's 11th Birthday Party yesterday held at Stay and Clay in Port Washington!

Melina...my wonderful granddaughter turned 11! Of course Yiayia Malia simply could not let a birthday go without making something special!

...A vanilla butter cake/cupcakes  infused with a strawberry simple syrup and  filled with the freshest and most  scrumptious strawberries and passion fruit Italian Meringue Buttercream. Now you would think that an 11 year old would want American Buttercream....but not Melina! She asked specifically that her cake be filled with IMBC cuz "Yiayia! you make it so light and fluffy!!!" Gotta love it!

Melina...by the way is a very talented and artsy young lady! Not that she's my granddaughter mind you...but she is pretty good with a brush and paint AND plays clarinet! Seems like it runs in the family....All of my grandbabies are into the arts in some way. Katie plays piano...and bakes, Costa plays trombone and loves to dabble in cakes as well!!

Well darlin!!!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY!

I hope you had a fabulous day!

Oh lest I forget to give credit where credit is due...The topper cake for Melina's Paint Palette Cupcake Tower was inspired by Anne Heap, of New Jersey. She had done a three tiered paint splat cake...which was totally cool. Thank you for the inspiration Anne.



Justin Bieber and Cinderella Come to Port



Joanna and Her Justin Bieber Cake

Princess Cake for Carmela



Princess Carmela and her Princess Cake

So...what a busy weekend this baking mama has had! It was such a pleasure creating these cakes for sisters...Joanna who turned 13 and Carmela who turned 5!!!

Joanna our new teen...celebrated her 13th birthday with a Justin Bieber Cake. Joanna is such a sweet young lady. So so eloquent and polite and all the good things a teen can be! Her favorite colors are purple and lavender and so I created a cake in lavender with a 2-d standup of Justin singing. I guess it's the next best thing to having him be at her party.

Happy Birthday Joanna!!!!

Now as for our little princess Carmela...well she wanted a Princess Cake! And so...I set out to make a cake with a crown filled with royal icing pearls. A crown fit for a princess.

Carmela is adorable!!!! I wish when I was teaching to have had a classroom filled with Carmelas. 

Carmela's favorite color is pink.

  From what I heard...there was going to be a special visitor the Princess Carmela's castle...Yes..you guessed it....Cinderella of course!

Here is hoping that both Joanna's and Carmela's party were hugely fun!!!!

Their cakes were respectively....chocolate blackout cake filled with a chocolate mousse, and yellow buttercake filled with fresh sugared strawberries and Italian Meringue buttercream.

Again....

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY JOANNA!!!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY CARMELA!!



Bridal Shower Cake for Christina at Il Bacco

 Gumpaste shoe with ribbon and ribbon rose and some bling on top of purse cake.

 Purse Cake and gumpaste shoe. This was inspired by the invitation for Christina's Shower.

 Gift Box made to accompany the purse and shoe display.

 Gift Box Cake and Shoe on Purse Cake for Christina's Shower. Don't know if you can see the board but it was stenciled with a damask royal icing technique.

Cupcakes for Christina's Shower. Chocolate Blackout Cake topped with a Passionfruit Italian Meringue Buttercream

I so love wedding and shower cakes! Alexandra a friend and former teaching collegue called me to create a cake for her sister-in-law to be Christina's Bridal Shower. I can't tell you how happy and honored I was! Alexandra  is soooo sweet!

She had a vision for the shower, and I must say it was lovely. When I saw the invitation I knew exactly where to go with the cake.

The fun part of making the shoe was when I bought a pair of spiked heels and tore them apart to get just the right pitch for the sole. (Thank you Anne Heap for the great tutorial on gumpaste shoe making!) You should have seen the look on hubby's face when I sat there tearing the shoe apart!!! lol

Little tip for all my cake designer/decorator friends..something I'm sure you all know....but I thought I share anyway....Make as many of the decorations as you can well in advance of assembling your cakes....Makes for an easier and faster assembly on "building" day!

Now back to THE cake. It was a moist...yellow butter cake...filled with sugared fresh strawberries and passion fruit Italian Meringue buttercream. To get the buttercream really light an fluffy...I beat it on low-medium after I've added my flavorings for a couple more minutes. mmmmmmmm!

By the way...the venue...Il Bacco on Northern Blvd in Little Neck, NY is amazing. The venue for the shower was beautiful. I can't wait to go to dinner there one evening in their restaurant.

Congratulations to Chistina. As we say in Greek...Sta Stefana. Literally translated... And to the crowning.

Alexandra...what a lovely lovely job  you did organizing the shower! Everything was done so beautifully...and was ohhhhh so chic!!!! Brava!!!

Sweet 16 Cowgirl Boots for Noelle

Brown and Turquoise Cowgirl Boots Cake

Edna M. and Daughter Noelle

I love country music and anything associated with it. So you can imagine how pleased I was to have received the phone call from Edna asking for a cowgirl boots cake for her lovely daughter Noelle who celebrated her  Sweet 16 today

Mom Edna shared with me that for Noelle's birthday, they were taking her to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and could I please construct a pair of cowgirl boots cake for Noelle. Well...my dear friends...of course I said yes! Now mind you...this challenge was a first for me. As you all know...I have created car cakes, character cakes, a Cartier watch cake, designer purses, and designer shoes...but boots?  How hard could it be? At first...it was a daunting project...but...not being one to back down from a cake challenge I forged forward.

First order of business was to talk about the style of boot cake Noelle might like.

 Remember on the Next Great Baker...when Buddy presented the bakers  with a challenge to create a cake for Miss USA? Well the one thing he said that rang true was "listen to your customer". I always try to listen to all of my wonderful clients, and then of course, I research to get inspiration and talk some more.  For Noelle's cake we decided on a cake that wasn't juvenille, no pinks or purples. I viewed several photos that Edna had sent...and from them I could see that the boots were playful...yet sophisticated. Perfect for a young lady. What caught my eye especially was a pair of boots that had turquoise in them...and so I ran with the turquoise and brown with a hint of silver beads.

I loved speaking with Edna, she is so lovely....and a cake decorator as well!!! Yah...you read correctly...Edna M. is a cake decorator...and amazingly talented!  No pressure there to create a cake that would not only make the birthday girl happy but now...it's being delivered to a cake decorator!

Well...to make a very long story short....the cake was created...and turned out to be a "piece of cake" and a lot of fun to create and deliver! I'm still in awe at how easy it was to deliver. You know how stressful deliveries can be!

And...what made it even more special was finally meeting Edna and her beautiful family in person.

Edna...if you're reading this...the offer still stands for that Cake Playdate in Port!

Happy Sweet 16 Noelle.

Hints for Ease of Applying Fondant to A Cake Boot

1. Roll out your fondant between two sheets of plastic to the size you will need to cover the area in sections on the cake.

2. Open up the plastic and place a piece of parchment to cover the fondant and immediately flip it over.

3. If you are cutting out a pattern place your template over the exposed fondant and using your hobby knife proceed to cut out your pattern.

4. Transfer the fondant still attached to the parchment onto a cookie sheet and place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

5. After 15 minutes or so...remove from freezer. Peel off the parchment and apply fondant  to cake (smooth side up)...allowing the warmth of your hands to thaw the fondant, as you go along forming the fondant to the cake.

This method is really great as the fondant won't stretch and pull...you know that awful distortion that happens when you try to apply fondant to irregular shapes.

I also use this method to cut out intricate stencils. Saves so much time and aggravation!