Animal Picnic for Nadya's First Birthday

These are really old but I haven't had the time to put these photos up. My baby niece turned 1 in January. My sister-in-law made the cake and I make the toppers. So, I decided to make miniature replicas of her 3 favourite stuffed animals/doll having a picnic - Sophie the giraffe, Harriet the Hippo, and Charlie the doll. Both Harriet and Charlie were actually knitted by my mom! All the figurines were made out of fondant and other details painted on.

The finished product

The replicas and the originals

The making of Harriet and Charlie

I have to say that I wasn't too happy with Charlie. She got a little chubby. It was hard to get her to stay sitting up without compromising her girth. I used a garlic press to make her hair - easy and already available in most households!

Harriet the Hippo

Sophie the giraffe

Sophie was made out of a single piece of fondant. I have to say she's my favourite. Spots, hooves, and other details were painted on using AmeriColor Gourmet Writer Food Decorating Pens(one of my favourite and most used purchases).

Available at Iced Affair in Camperdown (http://www.icedaffair.com.au/)

Close up

Nadya and I

The three wise pink apes for my dad's 60th birthday

My dad turned 60 today and I wanted to make a cake that was really special and really represent my Dad. For some reason, my dad LOVES pink apes. He loves anything to do with them. Pink ape key chains, pink ape t-shirts etc. For my graduation he even gave me a pink ape soft today in a graduation gown which he had got specially made. I had previously made 2 pink ape cakes for my dad so I really had to up the ante this time to outdo myself. So, I was inspired by the three wise monkeys and personalised it.

Ta da!

(Click on the photos to view larger photos)

The finished cake

Now to break it down...

The apes were made with fondant and is all edible except for the toothpicks I used to stabilise the limbs and props. Funnily enough, the camera took up most of my time. I had to make 6 lenses before I was able to fit "NIKON" on the lens cap (see above).

Now, let me explain ...

1. The ape that hears no evil
My dad is pretty hard of hearing so often his response when you speak to him is "WHAT?"

2. The monkey that speaks no evil
My dad collects degrees and one of his degrees is a Masters of Linguistincs which isn't in this photo but is in the final product

3. The monkey that sees no evil
My dad is an avid photographer

I was pretty proud of the finished product... I'm becoming more and more comfortable creating with fondant. But the most important thing to me was that my dad absolutely loved it. Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Hummingbird cake for Will's 24th birthday

I made a hummingbird cake, which is a Southern cake with pineapples, bananas, cinnamon using Will's mom's recipe and a cream cheese icing. I didn't think that that much icing sugar could get mixed into one single package of cream cheese, but it did and surprisingly it didn't taste too sweet at all.

I didn't do anything too fancy this time - just a few swirly borders sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and the sides covered with chopped pecan nuts. I wrote a little birthday message in the centre to finish it off, but the photos didn't turn out too great.

Eeyore cake for Nikki's 23rd

Eeyore cake topper on a chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache icing

Little birdies for Diana's 23rd

To make the birds, you first have to crumble your cake, mix it with icing and roll it into an egg-like shape. To finish, cover with fondant and add details.

My first attempt. He's a bit lumpy and retarded looking, but I got better eventually!

Painting eyes and letting feet dry

The yellow one kinda looks like he's trying to runaway, doesn't he?

Shots from every angle. I can't seem to get enough of these little critters!

Danish flag cake + seal cake topper

My first made to order cake. I was asked to design a cake that included a Danish flag and a very cute seal + a sign saying "Don't Kill Me".

Step 1: Making the cake toppers

The Danish Flag

The naked seal on an iceberg

The little seal all dressed.
He's all edible except for his whiskers which are made out of wire used to make sugarpaste flower sprays.

With his 'Don't Kill Me' sign - Does he look mopey enough?

Step 2: Putting it all together

I made a yellow butter cake and froze it to facilitate carving.
Cut the cake to size and cover in buttercream
Place flag cake topper carefully

Pipe the borders using a star tip

Place the seal topper on top

Save the seals!

The making of the tulip bouquet and cupcakes

First, you roll out the fondant/sugarpaste thinly and use the cutters and then press them between a veiner. I had a photo of all the cutters and veiners and other tools I used but for some reason it won't convert into a jpeg.

You have to let it dry in the position and shape you want to set in so I let my petals and leaves mould in spoons and a bowl. You might have noticed that you don't see any of these petals in the final bouquet. That's because as I said, they weren't dry enough and they all broke on me.

Cover the cake in fondant, wrap around a decorative red ribbon to bring out the colours of the flowers.

Apply finishing touches 5 minutes before you have to rush out the door because you're already half an hour late.

And there you have it!

Close up shots of the momentos

Love my $15 Bake and Take cupcake carrier from Coles!