Ron Swanson Cake: Give me ALL the bacon and eggs you have.

For anyone who watches the TV show Parks and Recreation, you might appreciate this cake.  Ron Swanson is a monotone, masculine, hunting, and breakfast loving character who is the parks director of Pawnee, Indiana.  Although there are SO many great characters on the show, my husband appreciates the humor of Ron the most.  So for his birthday I decided to make a face cake based off a Ron Swanson halloween mask I saw online, which was designed by Jon Defreest.

 
 

You must watch this hilarious clip with one of his most his memorable lines.  "Give me all the bacon and eggs you have."

http://youtu.be/HrIeP798hiQ

Surrealism Cake: New York Magazine Weddings 2012

New York Magazine - Weddings, has an awesome museum worthy cake collection in their current issue!  Each cake is based off of an art movement in history such as Realism, Impressionism, Abstract, Pop art, Cubism, Modernism etc.  I chose Surrealism as my movement.  As you can see, under the fondant layer of this cake you would imagine fluffy layers of cake and buttercream, but instead there is a peek through a curtain that exposes a hard, cold brick wall with a window that opens up to goldfish swimming in the blue sky.  Haha, that is as surreal as my literal mind could come up with :)! See the entire collection @ 

http://nymag.com/weddings/slideshow/sw12/cakes/index6.html

Winter Wonderland Cake

Goodbye winter!  Today is officially the last day of winter and to bid it goodbye, here's a huge Winter Wonderland cake that we made for a Sweet 16 party.

After each snowflake was cut out, they were individually piped with royal to add intricacy.

Then each was painted with pearl dust, silver luster dust, disco dust, shimmery sprinkles or clear sprinkles so that no two snowflakes would be the same.  

We made over 120 snowflakes for this 10 tier cake

We made over 120 snowflakes for this 10 tier cake

Goodbye Winter, hello Spring!

Dressmaker Details

Check out our cake in the Spring 2012 issue of The Knot.  The story highlights cakes that have dressmaker details such as embroidery, ruffles, eyelet, etc.  It's so amazing how fabric details can be replicated in the form of cake.  It takes a lot of time and patience to make fondant look like fabric, but outcome is so delicate and beautiful.

Laduree visit and...pink macarons!

When Laduree opened on the Upper East Side of NYC I was thrilled!  I dragged my husband (who doesn't like sweets by the way..?!?..crazy) and waited in line for 1.5 hours.  The store is gorgeous and they hold the key to my heart there.  The NYC inspired cinnamon-raisin macaron was so delicious I almost cried.  No joke.  Have you ever tasted anything so good that you will never forget the feeling, the place, and the time you ate it?  A food that conjures up other great memories and evokes a child-like joy in you?  No wonder Laduree is the best.   Note: Bouchon Bakery makes a killer coffee macaron too.  

These delicate and sweet treats are flown in from Paris.  

So, of course I was craving a macaron the other day and wanted to stop by Laduree again, but priced at just around $3 per macaron and the long wait, I decided to make my own.  Please don't judge me by my feet....if you know what I'm talking about :)  haha

Piggy Bank Cake

This is the my first post in 2012 and what's a better way to start the year then with a cake that reminds us to save $.  This coin-slot/piggy bank cake was used in the January issue of Brides Magazine for a story on budgeting for your wedding.  

The all white flowers are supposed to mimic ceramic flowers with button-like centers.

Here a closer look at the decorative slot:

Christmas M&M tree

I hope everyone had a warm and wonderful Christmas weekend!  The holidays are always a busy baking season.  I'm sure you had your hands full rolling, icing, and baking sweet treats.  This year I made an assortment of white chocolate bark with almonds and cranberries, peanut butter blossom cookies, and millionaire shortbread bars.  To top it all off, I made a simple yet festive cake that my friend's daughter so kindly helped me decorate.  A three tier vanilla cake covered in green buttercream, decorated with colorful m&ms for lights, and a gumpaste star.  A quick, simple, and kid-friendly idea for your holiday table!  

Flower Pot Cake

There are a handful of edible flowers in the world like hibiscus, pansies, gardenias and roses...but hydrangeas are not among them.  Hydrangeas are actually considered moderately toxic. The best way to eat any flower in my opinion is a sugar flower, of course with chocolate cake crumbs acting as dirt and an orange fondant clay pot!

This flower pot was a small individual sized cake made for a friend who is an avid gardener.  I thought it would be an appropriate way to show appreciation for her hobby while celebrating her birthday.