Personalized iPhone Cake

A bride wanted to surprise her fiance at the rehearsal dinner with a special cake which I found to be such a sweet gesture.  Because he's a huge fan of Apple products, she knew she wanted it to be something Apple related so we decided on a cake that looked like his iphone. 

Below's a side to side comparison. It looks pretty similar but I did make some alterations such as a plain gray background and changing the date and time to when the groom would be surprised with the cake at the rehearsal.  The email notification is also off because I used an older screenshot of his phone and I made my letters on top too big to fit everything in but oh well.

To begin, I covered a 16" x 8" frosted cake (I used two 8" x 8" square cakes and put them next to each other) with black fondant.  It's always tricky covering a cake in fondant and especially a cake of this size...you have to be very careful.

I then added a gray screen to the cake.
 

I next added my already made applications.  I made them ahead of time because with the amount of detail involved, there would have been no way for me to make it after I made the actual cake.  I included a few close-ups of my favorite apps...I had so much fun making them!  I especially loved the apps within the apps because it was quite the challenge to make such tiny details.

If you're wondering how I made the details, I used a fondant tool set and my decorating tips/small cutters.  I used the tips to cut out small circles and other basic shapes on fondant and then used to the tools to shape. In addition, I used edible markers for very very tiny details such as the numbers on the clock.

After applying the applications to the cake, I then added the finishing details. 

It was a huge hit at the rehearsal dinner and the groom was very happily surprised.

3 Tiered Baby Dino Cake + Smash Cake

For Koreans and many other cultures, the first birthday is a very significant milestone and calls for a big celebration.  So I really wanted to do a great job when I was asked to make a one year birthday cake for a Korean family.

Unfortunately, I was so in the zone to get everything finished that I did not take any pictures while I was in the process of making it!  So I'll just break down the one picture I did take. :)

The birthday boy's mom wanted a big "1" to be displayed on the top.  I love that the dinosaur is looking back at it with a smile...I added a tree on the right side to balance out the composition.  Btw, the "1", dinos and trees were all edible and made out of fondant.

Instead of following the typical two inch apart rule for cakes, I actually used 6", 8" and 12" tiers.  I placed the 6" and 8" off center from the 12" to make a little "play area" for more dinos and trees.  Volcanoes graced the landscape of this cute prehistoric scene.

For the bottom tier, I used a cool pattern to give the fondant some texture and placed some green fondant on top.

There was also a simple smash cake for the birthday boy to dig into.  For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of a smash cake, it is a small cake for the birthday kid to "smash" and eat on his or her own...it's pretty cute because they get the cake all on their hands and mouths!

The birthday boy's mom said she was blown away by the cake and that made me so happy!  You never know for sure if your vision is the same as what others are expecting so I am always really glad when the result exceeds their expectations.

Wedding Dress Cake

One of my dear friends needed to get a cake for a bridal shower and we decided on a cake that was shaped like a wedding dress.  I decided on making it with a sweetheart neckline and some pearls around the waist and back for details.

To start, I used one half circle and three 6" round cake pans and baked some red velvet (the bride's favorite flavor). I put some frosting in the middle of each layer and stacked them on top of each other with the half circle on top. 

I then cut a dowel rod so that about an inch would be visible on top of the cake and stuck it down the middle of the cake.  I also took a bread knife and shaved down some of the roundness from the top of the cake and then covered it with frosting. 

I rolled out white fondant to the length I needed, carefully covered it over the cake (I made sure the fondant didn't rip too much when the dowel rod poked through) and then trimmed the ends of the fondant so the skirt length would be even. 

I created the torso by shaping skin color fondant and then covering it with white fondant.  After I was done with the torso, I firmly stuck it on the end of the dowel rod.

For the finishing touches, I added edible pearls to the waist and back.

Super Easy and Delicious Recipe: Monkey Bread

I get tons of request from friends and co-workers for monkey bread and I could see why.  It's hard to resist a cinnamon-y, warm and fluffy treat.  A lot of people assume that it must be difficult to make because it looks quite impressive but it is so easy (this was actually one of the first recipes I used when I first started baking) and I would even have time in the morning to make it before heading into work.  When I brought it into work this week, it was gone in about ten minutes!  I got this from Pillsbury.com and the only thing I changed is that I used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon instead of 1 since I really love cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 350. Take 2 cans (16.3 oz) of refrigerated biscuit dough, peel apart each section and cut each one into quarters.

Put 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon into a large ziploc bag and shake to mix.  Then add biscuit dough and shake to coat all the dough evenly.  Place the biscuits in a greased bundt pan.

Mix 3/4 cup of melted butter and 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar.  Drizzle the mixture onto the dough.

Pop in the oven for about 30 minutes (I did mine for 28) and when you take it out, it's going to have risen and look all golden.

Let it cool on top of a cooling rack for 10 minutes and then flip onto a serving plate.  The best part of monkey bread (besides being absolutely delicious) is that you can pull it apart with your hands.

On another note, I can't believe it's already almost Labor Day!  It's crazy to me that it's only been one year since I took my first basic cake decorating class at a local Michael's store because I feel like making cakes has always been a part of my life.   I took the classes to just learn the fundamentals on how to make a nice looking cake but from the first one, I was hooked.  I immediately went home to practice some more and research ideas and techniques. 

My experience has taught me that it's never too late to find your passion whether you make it your career or just a hobby.  So I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that I strongly believe in:

Do what makes you happy.

Be with who makes you smile.

Laugh as much as you breathe.

Love as long as you live.

♥