Puppy for Sophia

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Sophia!

When it came time to plan Sophia's cake, it was an easy choice.  A puppy!  But what kind of puppy?  

I started looking at puppy cakes that people have made and this one caught my eye.  It's been done in a few different versions, all adorable.  Problem was no one really had instructions on how to "build" it.  I  was left to fend for myself.  

Here's what I came up with:

body - 2 oval layers, top layer carved so the "rear" would be fuller
head - a 6" round and a 4" round carved to get the shape I wanted
legs - 2 mini wonder mold cut in half


All covered in Fondarific.

Chocolate cake with coordinating vanilla cupcakes.  Gotta please them all!  I was happy with the result!  As for Sophia, she loved it!  But honestly at 2, she would love anything colorful and sweet that I put in front of her.

The hardest part?  Cutting it!

Icing Smiles for Kids

A quick follow up to one of my earlier posts, A Worthy Cause...


Recently, a non-profit organization with a fairly simple, yet impacting goal caught my attention.  They provide custom cakes to critically ill children and leave them with an Icing Smile.
  
So many of us have it in our hearts to make a difference, but don't act on it due to the lack of time and resources.  Me included.  That can't be said for Tracy Quisenberry, founder of Icing Smiles Inc.  Tracy, realizing the importance of bringing a smile to a child's face when he/she needs it the most, made it happen.  As a working mother of two, with an already full plate, she made the time and found the resources to bring a little bit of happiness to some well deserving children.  It's that simple, and with this, I knew I could help.
  
For those of you that read my earlier post and voted, THANK YOU! Unfortunately, Icing Smiles will not receive the Pepsi grant.....but in the following update, you will see that they have succeeded nonetheless.  They are thrilled with the overwhelming support and are focusing on the rapid growth of the organization.  Please read on, and if nothing more, follow Icing Smiles on facebook and see for yourself the impact of an icing smile!


http://www.facebook.com/notes/icing-smiles-inc/update-for-our-baking-partners/429920081242


Sometimes it's the little things in life that make a huge difference!

Fondant of Choice

I have gotten quite a few inquiries on fondant lately.  Do I make my own?  NO CHANCE!!  With so many great products available, there's no reason to. Unless of course, you're a glutton for punishment.  Seriously!  It even comes pre-dyed!

I'm no expert, and I've only tried a few different brands, but my favorite by far is...

Drumroll please...

FONDARIFIC

It was my first (maybe that has something to do with it), and I promise you it will be my last.

Extremely pliable, not too sticky, and did I mention the flavors?!  That's right, flavors.  So many different flavors!  My very favorite, of course, is buttercream. YUM!!  Finally!  There's no longer a need to peel away the layer of fondant before digging in to your piece of cake.  Well that's not necessarily true.  My kids still peel off the fondant, but now they eat the fondant and leave the cake.

www.fondarific.com

Buttercream

When a dear friend calls and says "I need a cake, but just slap some 'regular' icing on it.", what do you do?  You make a cake, and slap some 'regular' icing on it.  I was actually happy with the outcome, just simple and pretty.  

Oh, the woes of buttercream.  Why is it so much harder for me to throw something together with buttercream than to cover it in fondant?  Part of the reason I stopped making sheet cakes, is because they bore me.  I know there is a lot that can be done with buttercream, I just don't practice enough.  So don't look too closely, my skills need some work!  

Not wanting it to look like your typical grocery store cake (not that there's anything wrong with that), I added a subtle texture to the sides and top.  With no texture sheets on hand, I grabbed a clean paper towel.  After the final coat dried out a bit, I rubbed the paper towel over the cake with a fondant smoother and was left with a light texture, adding the extra touch I was looking for.   

It was a 3 layer chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, and they LOVED it. Mission accomplished!