I like books too... especially if they involve Harry Potter.

I would like to consider myself a reader. Before I got into the whole cake business, I often had my nose buried in a book during my free time or while I was mindlessly working out on the elliptical at the gym. Now that I don't really have an abundance of free time I have found that I really miss reading. Like Harry Potter! I'm a HUGE Harry Potter nerd and will proudly admit it that I have read each book multiple times as if each time was the first time. I miss Harry Potter... I miss reading... oh my gosh, enough about that! 

This cake was ALL about books and I looooved it! It was for a bridal shower that had an entire literary theme, including the cute invitations that were a play off of the Penguin Publishing Group book covers. I'm so, so fortunate to share this cake with professional pictures by Amanda Krieg Photography. Amanda and I went to high school together and she conveniently is also my neighbor! We are both in the beginning stages of starting our own businesses, so we have decided to work together and help each other as much as possible. Love her, love her work, and would LOVE if you supported her as well! : ) 

On to the cake!!!!! 

I decided to stick with the whole Penguin Group theme for the books. The mother of the bride helped to pick out the titles of the books, with the top book being the bride to be's favorite. Well, her favorite book is actually, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," but the M.O.B. suggested we play around with the title and change it to, "Her Eyes Were Watching Ryan." Too cute! 

All of the little penguins, book spines, and placards were made from gumpaste. 

Each book was covered in white fondant and then I wrapped them individually in three bright colors, purple, turquoise, and orange. I then went in with a fondant cutter/Wilton tool that I don't know the name of, to make the page indents. 

I added two extra decorations to pull the whole cake together. I made a bookmark out of gumpaste that said, 

"To mark your spot,

And save the date.

June 11, 2013

She will wear white,

He won't be late."

I also made some reading glasses out of black gumpaste. They were a last minute addition... as in I made them an hour before I delivered the cake. 

I really enjoyed working with the mother of the bride to make this cake so personalized and one of a kind. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and I'm sorry I've been slacking with updating the blog. Spring is a busy season for cakes but I'll do my best! 

Thank you for your support and for reading! 

Always, 

Sarah 

A little dose of healthiness!

People are usually surprised to find out that I make my living as a baker. I love to run and workout, am obsessed with torturing myself at CrossFit570, and I'm even a distributor for Advocare. I guess it's a good thing that I try to stay active and eat healthy because I DO have a sweet tooth. I don't always eat everything I bake but I have my weaknesses... carrot cake, brownies, and cream cheese filling. If any of those things are leftover then I usually have to add an extra mile or so to my run the next day. I plan on offering healthier options in my shop because healthy treats can actually be tasty! Like the breakfast cookies that I adapted from this blog. I love this recipe because you can add or substitute ingredients to your liking. Try it out and make it your own!

Death, taxes, and sheet cakes..

There are a few things in life that cannot be avoided. There are the obvious ones.. death, taxes, and sheet cakes. Yup... Sheet cakes! I'm going to preface this post by saying that I am a very stubborn person. I am set in my ways and if I decide earlier in life that I don't like something then chances are I still hate it today. Hot dogs, driving on a certain road, going to a particular restaurant, and sheet cakes. Are you catching the theme here? I do not know why or when it happened but I absolutely dread doing sheet cakes! I am well aware that as a baker and owner of a cake company that I will in fact have to do sheet cakes. Doesn't mean I'm going to like it! I think my biggest issue with them is that they have been  overdone and have become generic. When people hear "sheet cake" they automatically picture the slab of stale cake and overly sweet icing that you can get from Wal-mart, but I'm on a mission to change that. Instead of a lone "Happy Birthday" and piped buttercream border, I usually try to make sheet cakes more personal with customized decorations. 

The sheet I did last weekend was a breeze to design because the birthday girl's sister helped so much with the personalized decorations. "She's a very girly, girl and a teacher!" Done... and the ball was rolling! 

I decided to split the cake into two sections, the one geared towards her teaching background and the other towards her personal taste. 

The "girly" side of the cake had a zebra background, Tiffany's box with pearls, and a M.A.C. lipstick. The Tiffany's box was made with colored fondant, as was the lipstick. I used gumpaste for the pearls and strung them together with a needle and thread. 

The teaching side had a ruler as the boarder, a red apple, and a chalk board. All of those decorations were made with gumpaste and royal icing detail. 

The birthday girl was turning 23 so I hid a few 23's on the lipstick and chalkboard. Every little detail matters to me! 

So remember folks, when ordering a sheet cake don't assume that your decorations have to be boring and generic. Get creative! 

Thanks for reading and for all of the support! 

Always,

Sarah