Flower topped cake

For one of my display wedding cakes I decided to have a go at something I'd been wanting to do for ages, a cake topped with large flowers. 

Finished Cake

For this cake I made a large peony, some English roses, Heritage roses, Freesias and filler flowers. These were all wired flowers and taped together through a posy in the centre. I decided to stick with mainly purples and pinks for the cake so it created a neutral look with hints of colour. 

Flowers on Top

At the bottom of the cake I put a little Heritage flower to balance out the bunch at the top.

Flowers on Top

I was pleased with how this cake looked and it's one of my favourites to date. I would still like to experiment with the flower arrangement at the top of the cake but I think this works very well.

Flowers on Top

For this cake I also decided to try using a different backdrop. I found some wallpaper and placed this behind the cake. I think the balance works really well and suits the cake very well. What do you think? 

If you like this or any other cakes in my collection and require a cake, for any occasion, please get in touch.  

Black and White Wedding Cake

I was asked a few times about black and white cakes over the autumn so I decided to create a cake suiting this style to give the brides some idea. I used a square cake dummy stacked at a slight twist so it creates a different effect. 

I purchased some black cake lace and made it by the instructions. I then stuck these on each tier. 

Cake lace

I used some feathers in the top of the cake and finally I made a blossom flower and stuck this on the edge of the cake. 

Blossom Flower

I personally wouldn't choose this cake but I know that some people would like it and it would suit some themes. It was fun to make and I like the idea of the feathers on the cake and it's easy to get these in different colours. I hope this inspires some people and makes them think a little outside the box. 

Finished cake

Gary's Tiger Lily Cake

For my husband's birthday this year he gave me the brief of making him an impressive cake with flowers. His favourite of those I've made so far is the Tiger Lily. So of course I used these on his cake. I decided to make a 2 tiered square cake in white decorated with piped detailing. 

My first job was to make the lilies. I made several so I could cover the cake with them. 

Tiger Lilies

Gary asked for a chocolate cake and a lemon cake, so I made these, filled them and covered them in sugarpaste and left them to settle a little. 

Covered cake and placing lilies

For the piping detailing I found a design we liked on the internet and traced this on to the cake. I them piped over these. I wasn't 100% happy with the piping but it wasn't bad for a first attempt in this style. I'll continue to practice. 

Once the cake was all dried I placed ribbons around each tier and put the lilies on the cake. 

Finished Cake

I was really pleased with the effect of this cake and thought the lilies looked stunning. I got lots of lovely compliments and will certainly be adding it to my wedding portfolio. 

Close up of side lily

Close up of top liliess

Gold Lace Cake

I decided to make a floating cake as one of my dummy cakes for the coming wedding fair season and decorate it with lace trim. I like the effect the floating has on the cake, making it slightly separated and giving a little more height and wow factor. 

I used 4 square dummy cakes and covered them in various colours of sugarpaste. Using square drums I separated out the tiers of the cake but I did this in pairs so some were close and some were separated. I trimmed those layers closest to the boards with a edible lace trim and over hung the edge slightly. 

I wanted this to have a slightly gold metallic effect so I used ribbon to add the slight colour to the cake. 

I decorated the cake with individual lace pieces, these were each made in a mould, cut out and stuck on to the cake. 

Cake covered in lace

Using pearl balls I added a little effect to the cake and finally I topped the cake with a peony. I managed to break this so it has now been replaced with a large blossom flower. 

I was really pleased with the effect of this cake and I hope it's bang on trend for the coming season. It'll be coming with me to my up coming wedding fairs. 

Finished cake with a peony flower on top

Birdcage Cake

For one of my display cake this year I decided to make a birdcage cake. This isn't something I'd tried before but something I really wanted to give it a go. 

The birdcage is created by using 2 6" cakes stacked on top of each other with a domed cake on the top. I made these out of rich fruit cake so they would last. I covered the cakes in marzipan and then covered in blue sugarpaste. I placed this on top of 2 larger round dummies. 

For the cage effect I rolled out some modelling icing and stuck these down the sides. I also created a centre for the top of the cage. 

I made some large sugar roses and placed these into the side of the cake, in flower picks, along with some hydrageas and blossoms. I also made some sugar butterflies and stuck these on. 

Top of the cage

The final step was to place the ribbon around the cake and also placed bows on them. 

Roses

I was really pleased with this cake, I'd like to have covered the birdcage better but I will next time. I would also dowel the cakes next time to ensure there's no sinking or collapsing. 

Finished cake

I'm looking forward to showing this cake to the brides-to-be and seeing what they think. It's a cake with a bit of a difference and can be made to any colour scheme. 

Anniversary Cupcakes

I was asked to create some cupcakes for a 60th wedding anniversary. I was asked to make red and white roses and to use edible lace in the design. I drew up a few designs and after some discussions we agreed in 4 main designs and 3 different flavours. 

So I created 20 cupcakes which were flavoured lemon, chocolate and vanilla. 

Using edible lace mats I made up various designs and used these to decorate the cupcakes. I piped along the edges of some to add more definition. I had made the roses out of flower paste, this was more of a challenge than usual as they were so small but after a few practices I got it sorted. I made red and white roses. 

Those cakes with roses I piped in the opposite colour in a "birdcage" effect. 2 of the cupcakes I decorated with edible diamonds to represent the diamond anniversary. 

Vintage Cupcakes

I was pleased with how these cupcakes came out and I hope my customer enjoyed them. I believe they fit the brief. I'm pleased to have this order so I can show that I can make cupcakes too. 

If you're looking for cakes, for any occasion including weddings to birthdays, please get in touch to discuss your requirements. 

Edible Lace and Roses

Vintage Lace Cake

I recently purchased some cake lace mats and cake lace to try out on some cakes and to practice for an order. I also needed to create a display cake for the lovely Annabelle Jane Cake school. So I decided to combine these 2 things and create a 3 tiered cake with lace. 

I used the Claire Bowman lace and mixed it up to the instructions, filled the mats and dried it in the oven. I found the cake really easy to use and it cake out beautifully, it's a simple way of creating really intricate detailing. 

Lace

I covered the dummies in blue icing, piled the cakes up and placed them on the board. Using water I stuck the lace around each layer of the cake. I carefully joined the lace together to form a a smooth join and the pattern matches up on the edges. 

To decorate the cake I made some 5 petal flowers, in white, and stuck these on the cake. I would have liked the flowers to have more shape to them but I'm having a bit of a trouble getting my flowers to dry at the moment, the dining room is too cold, so I just used them as is. I used some royal icing to stick them on and to fill the centres. 

Finished cake

Overall I'd say this isn't one of my most detailed cakes or most intricate, however, I think the effect is simple and elegant. It gives a good example of the lace and I'm pleased with how it turned out. This cake will be going up to Maidstone on Tuesday for their window display. I'm really pleased to have been given this opportunity to display at the Annabelle Jane Cake School, I've done all my courses at this shop and have learnt so much from their expertise. I'm honoured to be able to display these skills there. 

W E Clark Jeweller's Display Cake

In order to advertise I decided to contact some local business and see whether they'd be willing to have a partnership. W E Clark Jeweller's in Lewes were kind enough to respond very quickly and agreed to have a display cake amongst their bridal jewellery in order to advertise for me. I wanted to create a 3 tiered cake that would show off my skills and looked impressive amongst their jewellery, so I decided to do a cascading cake with flower and butterflies. It eventually turned into a cake that matched the colour schemes that I had for my own wedding and I designed it along with my tastes, and my husbands. 

For the flowers I made some small liles, orchids and plenty of sweet peas. I did also make some roses but I decided not to use these on the cake as they didn't really fit in with the scheme. I also made some butterlies on wires and allowed these all to dry so they could be stuck on the cake. 

Flowers drying

I covered 3 tiers of dummies and a board, trimmed them with a plain white ribbon, I didn't want the cake to stand out at all as really it's just a back drop for the flowers in this case. I originally planned to pearl coat the cake but it kept raining (I spray the cake outside) and so I decided to just leave it plain in the end. 

I wired the flowers together using the lilies to make centre piece to start with. The sweet peas trimmed the edge of each cake and introduce the intense colours and finally the orchids fill in the gaps on the side of the cake. If I wanted to do this design on an actual cake I'd need to rethink the flowers a little as for this cake I just placed the wires straight into the cake. I obviously can't do this on the real cake. I also stuck some butterlies on the cake, down the side and amongst the flowers. 

Finished cake

Lilies on the top

Close up of Sweet peas and orchids

Once all the flowers were placed on the cake I allowed it to really dry and settle into place and then I dropped it off at the jewellers. I was really happy with where they said it was going to be placed and I look forward to seeing it in place soon. I hope that it'll look beautiful in their shop, it's certainly a lovely shop, I'd recommend a look. I'm very grateful to them for agreeing to display the cake and I hope that I'll get some interest from it. They certainly took enough business cards from me!! 

http://www.weclarkandson.co.uk/ 

Simple White Roses

For my final display cake I went back to the flowers theme but decided to make it much simpler. I wanted to introduce a little colour, but subtly, so I covered the 3 tiers in a pale blue icing. I used 3 dummies, 10", 8" and 6", on a 14" drum. I covered the drum in pale blue icing as well and trimmed everything with cream ribbon. 

I made some cream and white roses for the top and side of the cake. On top I created a topper with rose leaves as the base and then 3 large roses on top of this. 

Roses on the top

Part way down the cake, on each tier, I added a small rose bud and then on the board at the bottom I placed another full rose. 

Roses on each tier

Finally I placed some rose petals scattered over the cake, these were cream with a hint of pink at the tips. 

Petals scattered on the cake

Overall the effect of this cake is very simple but effective. I like making cakes like this and I hope that it'll inspire some brides in the coming weeks. 

Finished Cake

Bride and Groom Cake

This is another of my display cakes for the wedding fairs which is pink with a modelled bride and groom. I wanted to create cakes with different styles to showcase different ideas and to tempt the couples. 

To create this cake I covered 2 dummies with sugar paste, a 8" and 10", and then stuck them together with royal icing. I used 2 iced drums for these cakes, the first with a solid pink colour and then I marbled the larger board. The boards were trimmed with cream ribbon but I wanted something different for the cake. I used a little pearl mould to create a beaded trim around the cake, these were then stuck on with edible glue. 

I piped the bottom layer of the cake with a random swirl design. This is the first time I've done this so it isn't perfect but I have a diploma booked in to improve this very skill. 

Piping on the bottom tier and beading around the joins

The next challenge was to create the bride and groom. I learnt how to make a seated ballerina on the Sugar Paste dipoma, however, this was taking it to another level. I started off with sticking on the back of the dress as I was wanted it appear like she had a long train. On top of this I formed legs and then I placed the top layer of the dress on top of this. Finally I stuck on her body and head. I then made the groom in a similar way. It was easier because I only needed legs at the bottom not layers of dress. The black needed some cmc added to it so that it held its shape but white is good modelling paste already. Make sure you use modelling paste to create these at it'll hold it's shape once moulded and will dry solid. I left the figures to dry overnight and make sure they were really solid. 

Models driving overnight

The next day I added hair to the figures using a craft gum and stuck this on. I tried to shape the hair so it looked realistic and I even gave the bride a hair cut!! 

Finished cake

I'm quite pleased with how this cake turned out and especially pleased with the expression on the faces.

The happy couple

I think this cake is really sweet and hopefully it'll spark someone's imagination.

Close up of the groom

Close up of the bride.