Babies and Birthdays!

I love to look at the Cake Wrecks website. Have you seen it? Some of the cakes, especially the Baby Shower cakes are really frightening. I mean really, would you be comfortable chewing on a life-sized fondant sleeping baby?? Or cutting into a life-sized pregnant mother made entirely out of cake. It's grotesque! I find it truly disturbing that people actually find these things cute and not require therapy after eating it.

When I was young, my mother dabbled in cake decoration. From what I can recall, she had all the fancy decorating tips and attended a night class in a local high school.

She learned how to make a baby bootie out of frosting with a star tip. Ta-Da! Actually, it was quite cute and when it was placed on top of a cake she received rave reviews for her efforts

As always.....................I try to aim higher than I can reach.

I have seen several baby shower cakes recently that I thought were just adorable, so I promptly set out to replicate one. Perched on the edge of the top cake tier, I love the fact that the expectant mother looks just a tad uncomfortable in her present physical condition. She is made entirely out of fondant and I made her days and days ahead of time to allow the fondant to dry properly. I ditched the original idea to carve her out of Rice Krispy treats.

The whole Rice Krispy figure thing kind of freaked me out anyway. It reminded me of that Chuckie-like doll in that Karen Black movie, "Trilogy of Terror". Do you remember that one?? Nothing says "night-night" like a ten inch troll wielding a carving knife. I didn't sleep at all in 1975.

For this one, I took my time. I molded her legs first, then her feet, then I attached a body, and her um......various.......frontal bumps.

I oh-so carefully rolled out some chocolate fondant, then hand cut the strands of hair and attached each piece with a little sugar water.

Then I sat her down on an upside down ramekin for about 5 days to dry.

It was good for her to get off her feet for a few days. I think she really enjoyed the rest.

The presents are Rice Krispy Treats covered in fondant. Actually they are the original Karen Black "Trilogy of Terror" doll re-molded. Hey.....nothing goes to waste here.

I originally planned for this cake to be covered in fondant....then I remembered at the eleventh hour that the mother-to-be didn't particularly like fondant. So I whipped up buttercream and covered both cakes in a flash. I oh-so-badly wanted to slather on another thick coat of buttercream, but I was dangerously crunched for time. (I finished this cake within only 10 minutes of delivering it and then getting myself to the airport )See....most people wouldn't admit that, would they? I mean most smart people wouldn't. I don't think I'm quite there yet.

Anyway, the bottom tier of this Baby Shower cake is a rich, moist coconut and the top is Confetti Cake (the expectant mommy's favorite) from a box.

Booooooooo!

Hey! You in the back of the room.....I heard that.

She's cute, isn't she??

My next "gig" was a Lego Cake....and how are those legos made? With fondant covered Rice Krispy Treats or course! They are versatile little suckers, aren't they.

The Lego Cake (also due the same day as the Baby Shower cake) was for my friend Michele's son, Zachary. Like most seven year old boys, his world revolves around Legos........and chocolate. Ahhhh....a man after my own heart.

Wouldn't the world be a much easier place to live if legos and chocolate were the only things that did it for you?

*Sigh*.

Since the party was for about 23 people, I made a rich devil's food batter and baked it in a 15 x 10 pan. After leveling it off, I frosted it with a dark chocolate buttercream and topped it with fondant covered "legos". It was an eye-catching cake and from what I'm told , it was a huge hit at the party. Thus, the definition of "sweet success".....especially when it's through the eyes of a seven year old boy.

My final cake of the week was for a gentleman's birthday......and this gentleman likes to read. The chocolate cake is deep, dark and rich and the frosting is deep, dark and richer! Yum.

The book, glasses and rose are all made of fondant

Hey! I suddenly have a craving .

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