A Jessie Cake for my Livvy!

So, my beautiful princess turned two this past Monday. I can hardly believe she is already 2, and can't even remember what life was like before she arrived. I feel like I've known my Olivia my whole life! She has a new love of (or obsession with) Toy Story, so I decided to use this as a theme for her birthday cake. Most of the cakes that I found were more geared towards boys, as are the Toy Story decorations, so I changed things up a bit and decided to do a Jessie theme. Admittedly, I used someone else's idea that found online and tweaked it to suit my needs and abilities. I was thrilled with how it turned out. Mom made two layers - chocolate and vanilla - and a strawberry filling to go inside. It was delicious!


One challenge for me was rolling out the fondant for a cake this big - 2 cakes for each layer. Mom, the expert baker, helped with this, and also with the braided fondant on the bottom. Can't forget Sara, who also helped with the braiding and the picture documenting! The yellow part of Jessie's shirt was also a challenge - in hindsight, I should have put it on the cake then made the necessary scallops. Either way, I love the cake, and Olivia did too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE CUTEST COWGIRL EVER!

Oh, the Places They'll Go!

This was my first year teaching AP United States History, and it was a great experience (well, check back next Tuesday when scores are in, and hopefully I'll still feel the same way!) Anyway, the first time you teach something or somewhere new and difficult, it is an opportunity to bond with students. There is this feeling that you are going through the torture together. This year certainly was one of those years, as I struggled (but managed!) to keep up with the demands of planning, studying and grading an AP course.

At the end of the year, when the exam was over, and the Seniors were ready to graduate, I decided at the last minute to make them a cake as a thank you for their being a really amazing group of kids. I wasn't sure what the theme would be - graduation themed? Abington themed? Then I settled on - a book I received for my own high school graduation, and one that I have never forgotten for its message - Dr. Seuss' Oh, The Places You'll Go! Other than its beautiful words, I liked it because I refer a lot to his political cartoons during the course of the year, and typically show The Butter Battle Book when I teach the Cold War.



The most difficult part of the cake were the stripes. I hadn't tried these before. I have a Wilton tool for making stripes, ribbons and doing embossing so I put it to use for the first time. I need to remember to do the most difficult tasks first - I tend to get tired out at the end and get sloppy. Working full time, writing a thesis and having a 2 year old will do this to you I guess!

I was so happy with the cake (even though the letters on the sign could have been better!) and the kids loved it. One of the biggest compliments I've received in my career came from a student in this class who wrote me a note saying that she thinks it's great that I love what I do so much. I'm glad that my passion and enthusiasm comes across to my students. I should share my love of cakes earlier in the year, and perhaps they'll see I love more than just teaching History!

A Cake for Baby Emily!

I was thrilled to get to make a cake this weekend for Baby Emily! My cousin, Chrissy, is due next month and this weekend she had a small shower for her friends. Last weekend, I made gumpaste flowers (thanks, Mom and Jen for your help!). I chose colors that match Emily's nursery. My first experiment with gumpaste did not go as planned, but these videos really helped!

Last night, I decorated the cake, using Wilton's Ivory coloring for the fondant. I used Leaf Green, Pink Rose and Brown for the polka dots. I absolutely love the little Wilton sugar pearls that I bought a while back. They give such a cute accent to the cake!

The baby booties were a last minute addition, but I really liked how they turned out!



As a side note, someone at the party has actually had a cake from Carlo's Bakery and said that she liked the Wilton fondant better than his! I thought that was interesting. I wonder how they make theirs...

Can't wait for Baby Emily to arrive!!!

A special 21st birthday!

So, this post is a little late, but regardless, here it is. My little sis turned 21 in November - talk about feeling old! As kind of a last minute idea, I decided to do a Sex & the City cake for her.

It was my first attempt at making a shoe. I used gum paste instead of fondant, and noticed a real difference in that it has better hardening capabilities. I found a great shoe template here.

For the New York theme, I did a skyline around the outside. I need to improve on my fondant skills as far as covering the cake is concerned, but I think a thinner layer of icing on the cake should solve that problem the next time around. Here is the finished product!