Art Cake

This cake is definitely in my top 5 favorite cakes we've made! Kati, a friend of a friend, wanted to order a special cake for a dear friend of hers who was retiring as an Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) docent, where she had been over 10 years. Rather than just showing any art, Kati selected pieces that they had curated over the years at AMOA and had significance for the docents who would be at the farewell party. What made the cake really special, though, was the figure of Michaela strategically standing in front of the nude painting. The joke is that she would stand in such a way in order to placate the pruder teachers when she was giving school tours.

All the art on the cake is handpainted - no cheesy photo prints here! Kati, who actually has an art degree, wanted to help out with the painting. I'm glad she did because this cake required so much attention to detail, that the 4 hours she put in really helped. You might recognize some of the artists, but here is a link to the exhibition page for the following artists: Lichtenstein, Gee's Bend quilt, Oldenburg, Warhol, Christo, Hodges, Bates, Goldsworthy, and Arenz. I may have forgotten one or two.
From what I hear, the cake was a huge hit!
 

Austin Kidbits

I just saw that Austin Kidbits posted a little write up about our holiday treats! Since we don't have photos on the website (we're launching a new look very soon!) I'm going to post them here on the blog. 

The Present Cake

The present cake is a 6" square and serves about 15-18 people. It's a great centerpiece for a holiday party table or intimate Christmas Eve dinner party. It is $100 ($90 with Kidbits discount).

Santa Set

Ornament Set

Winter Set

Cookies! These adorable decorated cookies, which have been featured in the Austin-American Statesman, make wonderful gifts for adults and children alike. They come in sets of 3 and are $9 per set, or $8.10 when you mention Austin Kidbits. Oh, and did we mention that these are the most amazing sugar cookies ever? 

We do need 48 hours for the cakes and 24 hours for the cookies. We accept credit cards as well as cash. You can also order the cookies a la carte for parties with a minimum order of 30.

Happy holidays!

Cheerful wedding cake

 

Since we are officially done with weddings for 2010, I wanted to show you one of my favorite wedding cakes from this year. It's simple, sweet and elegant. The bride and I had to work on the design over long distance since she lives in Minneapolis. 
Her style for the wedding was relaxed with a little vintage chic thrown in. It was at Mercury Hall, which I just love. You can see the whole table set up with the clapboard background.  The gerber daisies and leaves were made out of sugar paste.
I think our collaboration was a success and hope you like it, too!
Photo is by Magic Spoon Productions.

Dr. Who and Alice in Wonderland cakes weekend

Last weekend I had a nice break from wedding cakes and had a blast making these 2 childrens' birthday cakes. The first was for a 9 year old Dr. Who fan. Fortunately I was sitting at my computer when his mom called, otherwise I wouldn't have known what a tardis looks like. The last time I saw Dr. Who was in 1988 when the long curly-haired guy played the lead. I think the cake cost more than their special effects budget. I added a dalek (again, thank you google) to give it some color contrast.
I had no problem getting all the details of the Alice in Wonderland cake, though. I enjoyed reading the book and watching the Disney movie when I was a kid. I recently read an abbreviated version of the original to my 6 yr old. Hopefully when she's older we'll read the whole text together. This cake was for a 4 year old, so I wanted to keep the design straightforward and lighthearted. Although I generally like Tim Burton movies, I was not a fan of his Alice in Wonderland, so I opted for the Disney look. I also think it's more appropriate for a little girl, anyway. The teapot is cake, too, although the handle, spout, dormouse and lid are gumpaste.
Have a happy Thanksgiving! We're closed this week, so it's all about baking pies for me. Can't wait!

The Knot Austin Guide

I'm going to make this a quick post since I'm wiped out from a cold. A few months ago I was asked by the Knot if I'd like to be the featured wedding cake designer in their Insider's Guide to Austin. A couple of the wonderful ladies from the NY office were on hand and were a pleasure to meet. I had a great time and am glad to see that I came across as somewhat coherent and focused! (Not too many "ums" and "uhs")
Here's a link to the video: http://wedding.theknot.com/local-wedding-vendors/austin-weddings.aspx?MsdVisit=1
Scroll down halfway and you'll see it. And yes - they REALLY loved the cake samples! After the shoot was over, the videographers and Knot ladies ate up the rest.

Fun Halloween Cake

 

Hope you had a fun Halloween! Since my oldest daughter was born on Halloween, I leave it up to her whether or not she wants a Halloween themed party. This year she wanted to all out for Halloween, so naturally the cake had to be a little spooky.  As the guests were all 6 and under, I designed the cake to be more cutesy than scary. 
I used a mix of cutters and freehand to create the imagery on the cake. The bats are piped on and the 3-d figures are gumpaste. I gave the Frankenstein monster a birthday cake to hold just to make sure the cake was obviously a birthday cake, too.

Big Bat Mitzvah weekend - Part One

This is part one of a 2-part posting. We made cakes, cookies and desserts for a huge bat mitzvah weekend in San Antonio early this month. The cakes I'm showing today are from the Saturday synagogue luncheon. The theme of the lunch was a fun festive candyland setting. We were asked to design a cake that embodied a fantastical candy filled cake. I designed a set of candy gift boxes and candy bags overflowing with iconic and easily recognizable candies. The cakes are actually 2 tiers each and were huge. The bags are fondant covered rice cereal. And the candy and lollipops? It's ALL handmade by us out of sugar paste! 

  
Here's a close up of the spilled candy. Each piece was painstakingly copied by us. The candy bars, Tootsie rolls, kisses, dots, etc. Not one is real. Yes, I know we're crazy. 
I was still in Austin working on the Saturday night cake and wasn't at the lunch, but my assistant told me that kids and old ladies were trying to sneak the candy thinking it was real! Next post will be the Saturday night party cake and cookies.