Let Them Eat Cake!

"A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don't eat the whole cake. You don't eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that's safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what's served on the happiest days of your life."

(Excerpted from "Eat Cake" by Jeanne Ray)

I love this quote.  It's so perfect and truly touches on the importance of cake and life celebrations.  Think about it.  We celebrate so many of our life's milestones with cake (and maybe ice cream too!)  This got me thinking about all of the cakes in my life - and in others' lives too.

My friend Robin is a spectacular cake baker/maker/creator.  She made my 40th birthday cake.

And made other spectacular cakes as well.  I wanted to share her incredible talent with you all to see!  I asked Robin to share with me some of her favorite cakes and a little description about each cake.  So, grab a cup of coffee and get ready to drool!!

Teapot Cake- This cake was made for a friend's daughter's 4th Birthday Tea Party! She's a chocolate lover so the base of the cake is Deep Dark Chocolate cake with Oreo Cookies N' Cream filling and Buttercream Dream icing. The teapot is layered with Deep Dark Chocolate Cake and Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing, covered in Marshmallow fondant. I loved making this one especially because I am usually making "boy" cakes like trains, Star Wars etc, so this was so much fun for me!  (Robin has two boys - ages 5 and 3)

Under the Sea - This was made for another friend's son who was turning 8 and having a Scuba Party! He and all his buddies spent an afternoon at the local dive shop learning how to scuba and afterward they came back to his house for a party, so cute! I named this one "Gluten Free Under the Sea" because the birthday boy was allergic to gluten so this was my first attempt at making a gluten-free cake. The icing was homemade buttercream and the sea creatures and shells were made out of white chocolate and fondant.

Mosaic - This was made for a dear friend's Sunday brunch. Her family was coming into town and she wanted something special to celebrate! Each layer was different: bottom layer was Classic White cake with Strawberry filling. middle layer was Lemon cake with Lemon Curd filling, top layer was White Almond Sour Cream cake with Raspberry filling all covered in Buttercream Dream. Flowers and mosaic tiles are made out of gumpaste and brushed with blue luster dust.

Fall Bouquet - this was made for a dear friend, just because! This was my first cupcake bouquet....and she loved it as much as I loved making it! The cupcakes are a chocolate stout (Guinness) cupcake with an orange zest buttercream, so yummy.



 
 

 
 
 
Heart Flower - This was for my Mom's birthday! She lives in NY and I never get to see her for her birthday so when she said she was flying out to see me on her special day, I had to make her a special cake! She LOVES spice cake so that is what I made her...a Cinnamon and Sugar Spice cake with a Cinnamon Buttercream (hence the flecks of brown in in the icing!) The flower was made out of gumpaste hearts arranged in a flower shape and brushed with a crimson luster dust. The stem and leaves are also gumpaste brushed in a iridescent green luster dust. My mom loved it and I loved being able to make her a cake...finally!
 
 
 
 
Isn't she amazingly talented!!!  So, if you're in Colorado - and need a cake - let me know and I'll pass your name on to Robin!
 
Now, I'm off to find something sweet to eat!