Cherry Blossom Cake

Even though we're known for more nontraditional designs, I like to throw in a classic now and then. The cherry blossom cake is becoming a popular design for brides and would be a beautiful centerpiece for a spring or summer wedding. It's easily adaptable to any color scheme or even shape - round, square or even hexagonal.
Next week I'll be posting the Junior League Christmas affair cake we'll be doing. The theme is "Wild in Africa", but don't expect any animal prints from us!

Modern Indian Wedding Cake

I love bright colors and unique designs on a wedding cake, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to have a bride requesting a pink/orange color combo and traditional Indian motifs for her Indian wedding. Rather than opt for a traditional take on the design, we went for a contemporary interpretation of the paisleys and scroll patterns. Using the hexagon shape and dome top added to the playfulness of the cake.
The set up of the ballroom was fantastic! You can see the sequin fabric hanging behind the cake, which was actually on a stage. The whole room had a wonderful pink and orange glow.

Halloween Cookie Class

After many requests, I finally decided to offer my first class - Halloween Cookies. We'll focus on learning different royal icing techniques, such as piping, flooding, using sparkle sugar, and marbling. All the techniques can be applied to any cookies you make in the future, whether it's cute butterflies for a shower or dinosaurs for a birthday.
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29
Time: 6:30 - 9:30
Cost: $50
All supplies as well as cookies and recipes provided. Please email me at info@cocopalomadesserts.com for more info or to sign up. The cookies you make Thursday will still taste wonderful for Halloween on Saturday!

Pirates and Baby Shower Cake

More fun kids' cakes! Technically, the Cat in the Hat (don't sue me estate of Dr. Seuss!) is a baby shower cake, but it would be a fun birthday cake for any Dr. Seuss fan young or old. The pirate ship was for a VERY happy five year old boy. He couldn't believe the ship was cake! Seeing a kid's joyful reaction is really the best thank you.

Pirate ship detail - peg leg mate and one-eyed captain.
The sails and rope ladders were edible, too.

Thing One and Thing Two running around the cake.
Everything was edible!

Cake Wrecks - Wrecked!

The Cake Wrecks grand super-duper world book tour was going to make a stop in Austin this past Sunday, but John and Jen of Cake Wrecks both got seriously ill in Dallas on Saturday. John even ended up in the ICU! Hopefully they'll recover swiftly. Unfortunately, this means the book tour is canceled for now, but it's more important that they get better.
It would have been awesome to meet them, especially since I was going to be providing cake for the 500 fans who were expected to show up at Book People. Nicole of Wicked Cakes was also going to be there with cake on hand for the hungry fans. Here's the cake that we made for the book-signing. If you're at all familiar with Cake Wrecks, you'll get the references. If not, go NOW to Cake Wrecks! Laugh, cry, shake your head in dismay... just go.
So what happened to the cake? My husband and his coworkers devoured it. Software developers plus free cake = gone.

Baby's Birthday Cake

We had a little party for my youngest daughter today. She's going to be 2, s0 I guess she's not really a baby anymore (sniff). Even though she has no clue what a birthday really is, she knew right away that the cake was for her and was very proprietary about it during the birthday singing. It probably didn't help that the little duck figure on the cake is a replica of her much beloved DuckDuckDuck, whose head she subsequently demolished.
The stacked present cake idea is a pretty versatile design and would work for any age, gender or celebration. I could see it as a fun over-the-top cake for a teenager (bar/bat mitzvah, sweet 16) or a cute version for a baby shower. It would also make a whimsical bridal shower cake, incorporating champagne, rings, and bridal fashion. The colors and design are what will set the tone for any cake in the stacked gift motif.
My other daughter's birthday is at the end of October - stay tuned for her cake!

Ann Richards Birthday Bash Fundraiser

Although it's been busy with weddings and other fun cakes, I particularly enjoyed making a cake for the Ann Richards Birthday Bash fundraiser. Every year the Ann Richards for Young Women Leaders gets a boost from this fundraiser. If you don't know much about the school, it's worth learning more about.
The nice thing about donating a cake is that I have free artistic reign and use it as an opportunity to try out new design ideas. This design would work nicely for a modern wedding cake or an elegant birthday cake. I arrived early to deliver the cake, so I didn't get a chance to see what the other pastry chefs had brought.