Mallory's Wedding Cake Inspiration

My best friend from since middle school is getting married in July.  God, just saying that makes me feel old.  This is the girl I spent every weekend with as a teenager.  She's known me through my best and worst times, supporting me through breakups, cheering me on as I pursue my dreams, and making me laugh every moment in between.  We've come a long way since the days of barking like dogs out the windows of my parents' minivan and coloring our hair over the kitchen sink (her's blonde, mine blackish brown).  I still have a {locked} box of notes we passed in class, my favorite being the drawings of which outfits we would wear to the Britney Spears concert (What the hell was I thinking with those zebra shorts??).

After high school I moved to Colorado to attend pastry school, but Mallory and I kept in touch.  She set the standard of what I look for in a friend (sense of humor, big hands), yet could never be replaced.  Lucky for me, she's stayed close to the Rogue Valley, so we were always able to visit when I went home.

Needless to say, Mallory holds a special piece of my heart.  Mal deserves every happiness life brings her way, and her fiance Nate has been nothing less than a blessing.  There wasn't really a question as to whether or not I would do her wedding cake - I couldn't imagine it any way else.  I used to bake for Mal quite a bit (shortbread and cheesecake are her favorites), and she had a huge impact on my decision to go into the pastry field.  Thinking about it now, there was never a time since we've known each other that I wasn't obsessed with food and opening a bakery.

Making cakes for people you know is as nerve-wracking as it is fulfilling, and you know I will be stressing over every detail until July 7th!  She has just a few simple requests:  Red Velvet cake with an all black and white exterior.  How cool is that going to look when they cut into it?!  Oh, and Nate prefers square tiers.  The wedding is being held at the River House in Shady Cove, Oregon, and needs to be able to hold up outside.  Other than that, I have free rein.  I've been scouting out inspiration on Pinterest based on the other details she's shared with me regarding her dress, invites, and flowers:

Invites similar to Mallory's, via Etsy.com

Close-up of a flower from her wedding dress (which is a frothy, dreamy confection in itself!)

Rose and carnation bouquet inspiration from conroysflowersdowney.com

These are some cakes I'm pulling inspiration from.  Mallory sent a few of them to me, others I found on Pinterest.  I want to create drama for her evening wedding, but without getting to formal or stiff.  Being the fun couple Mal and Nate are, it needs to have some playful elements.  I'm seeing black lace/damask details, asymmetrical draping strands of black pearls, a chic monogram, topped with gum paste white roses and carnations....perhaps in a vessel of some sort?  I would love to play with the proportions of the tiers as well. 

Follow me on Pinterest for more cake and floral inspiration, fashion picks, hair musings, recipes, and some Hello Kitty too :)  There is a entire board dedicated to Mallory's wedding!

I'm still working on sketches, then I will submit them to Mallory for approval.  I think the final pick should be a surprise, don't you?

xoxo,
Rachel

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Buttercream Flowers

Hello!

Mr. Scott wonders why I'm spending my day off writing about "work," but I just can't help myself.

As I mentioned before, buttercream flowers are a new challenge for me.  Previous to now, I had only been shown how to pipe roses.  My roses these days are passable, but show room for improvement.  The trick is having really stiff buttercream to work with (Add powdered sugar.  A lot.)  I found this little image of how they are piped using a "nail", since trying to explain the nail concept to my mother was difficult ("It's a stick with a flat thingy on top...")  The majority of flowers are piped first onto the nail and then transferred to the cake with small scissors or a spatula (I use scissors).  The stiffer the flower is, the better it holds its shape, the easier the transfer.

You can also pipe flowers using Royal Icing and allowing them to dry before transferring.  This is a variation  I would like to look into more down the road.

In researching piping , I've found a multitude of flower varieties that can be created from frosting.  It blows my mind how one slanted tip (#104) can create so many flowers!  Its all about pressure and angles.  Check these out:

Carnation

Primroses (violets made with a drop flower tip)

Hibiscus

Daffodil

Orchid

Iris

Wild Rose

Pansy

Daisy

These are other flowers that use special tips:

Poinsettia

Bachelor Button

Chrysanthemum

Shaggy Mum

Drop flowers

Lily of the Valley

Here are some recent cakes I've done with flowers.  Practice practice practice, I say!  

For floral cakes, I pipe the border and stems first as a guide to how I want the design to flow and fill the space.  The largest flowers are placed first and create the focal point of the spray.  Leaves and small flowers fill in and cover any flaws, then I write the message.

Did I mention all of this intricate piping has caused my carpel tunnel flair up again?  Wonderful perk of the job...wearing a wrist brace for a couple hours a day is helping slightly.


The sun is shining outside, so I'm going to go catch it for a few hours and sketch ideas for Mallory's wedding cake!

xoxo,
Rachel


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"Everything's Coming up Roses"

I want you all to meet Ben.  Ben is 12 years old and likes to make cakes.  The thing is, he's really good at it.  When his mom contacted me about setting up a class, I had no idea what to expect.  We spent and hour and half together on a recent Saturday afternoon, and it still brings a smile to my face. 

Over the years, I've come to realize artistic abilities don't always come naturally for people.  Likewise, art can be expressed in so many ways, whether you sketch, paint, weave, or make cakes.  One can learn the elements of an eye-catching, pleasing composition, studying size, scale, balance, the color wheel, but others seem to those concepts innately inside of them.  Being one of those people, I immediately recognized it in Ben. 

Ben got to decorate a 6" cake however he pleased.  I pulled out all of my colors, fondant, chocolate, buttercream, cutters and tools.  We talked about a design concept first, which went from fall, to winter, to Christmas, to spring.  He selected a really pretty palate on his own, and we got to work learning some icing and fondant skills.  You have to know that I helped ice and cover the cake in fondant, and made a couple roses, but after that I did not touch the cake!  It was all Ben!

Attaching fondant flowers with simple syrup.

Painting on gold luster dust, which he was very excited about.

Surveying his work...

The finished masterpiece.  Wow!

Working side by side with Ben was such a rewarding experience.  He has a bright future ahead of him, no matter what career path he takes, but with such natural talent, I hope he sticks to cakes!  He also has some slick dance moves.  Thank you, Ben, for sharing your personality with me!

-Rachel

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October Weddings - Part 1

First, thank you for the kind words and wishes after my previous post.  Don't cry for me, everything will be just fine :)

October was here and gone in an instant.  It ended up being one of our busiest months for weddings, special events, a holiday, two bridal shows, and on top of everything I had two Le Cordon Bleu interns to corral.  Culminating with a fun night out for Halloween, I don't think I could have picked a more appropriate costume as The Crazy Cat Lady - I was feeling pretty loopy!

As you will see, the weddings this month ran the gamut from bright and colorful to tonal texture...

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

Photo courtesy of Shannon Marie Photography

The monogram was taken from the couple's custom printed napkins.  You may also recognize the vine piping from the jade wedding earlier this year.  The small picture shows the three tiered version with the center band and monogram.  By altering the design to reflect the wedding colors and the couple's preference for square cakes, the new look is summery and bright with a dash of preppy coolness. 

Imagine all white, minimalist, asymmetrical architecture, and floor to ceiling windows looking down into Minneapolis' Sculpture Gardens.  That was the backdrop for this next cake at the Walker Art Center Skyline Room.  It may look like a simple cake, but the getting the piping perfect is still a challenge.  To create the quilted buttercream look on the bottom tier, I have to first etch the lines on hard buttercream with a rounded fondant tool (about the width of a pencil eraser), and then soften the edges with my [clean] finger.  This is a new technique a taught myself just this year.  Prior to, I thought the only way to create quilting was with fondant.

I'm a huge fan of Marah Cole Floral Designs, and you have to see the centerpieces she did for this wedding!  Those are veggies in the water! 

Photo courtesy of Marah Cole Designs

This is a fun little fall two tier that was accompanied by cupcakes.  I met the bride at a wedding show last year.  Leah really liked my dummy cake with fall leaves and pumpkins, and we made it topsy turvy for an unexpected twist.  I really enjoy the subtle texture of the buttercream with the uneven layers - it makes the look less stark and adds movement.

 So, this last cake is from yesterday, so technically it isn't from October, but who cares.  The colors are autumn perfection.

The bands are fondant on buttercream.  This is a tough design to pull off, keeping the lines perfectly spaced, balanced, and clean.  I'm proud of how it came out - go me! - and it would be fun to do it in so many different color combos.  Fresh flowers were the perfect touch of romance for such a modern design, but it could go many directions. 


Part II of October Weddings will include some very unique cakes...stay tuned!


- Rachel

Fall for Love

Presenting two ridiculously beautiful fall wedding cake displays.  Both took place at the enchanting Camrose Hill Farm in Stillwater.  Camrose not only provides a lovely setting, they grow many of the flowers too!

I've lost track of how many times I've done this design, yet I never seem to tire of the soft, draping lines and simple sophistication it offers.  It lends a great background for fresh flowers, as you will see here.  We also brought in another element of nature: little fondant acorns.  Love.

Thank you to Jessica of JM Photography for sending me these pictures right away.  This wedding just happened on Saturday!  Jessica also takes "awww"-inducing photos of newborns like you've never seen!

Next up, possibly one of my favorite dessert displays of the year, if not EVER.  Another wedding heavy with natural elements.  I love the cake: White on white, delicate leaves, asymmetry, blingin' BOWS.  This two-tier packs a punch.  And don't the cupcakes kind of look like toadstools? 

I snapped these of the rest of the tent...

 ...but for the full effect, visit photographer Brandon Werth's blog.  So many details - I can't even begin!

I also did a groom's cake for Meghan and Tim.  Tim is from California, and had his first experience ice fishing in Minnesota last year.  Meghan wanted to recreate this memory (complete with a story about him being fearful of peeing outside...notice the "yellow snow" behind him) and include their beloved Boston Terrier Mr. Figgins, in an Angel's sweater (it had a halo-ed "A" on the back).

Here's to falling in love,
Rachel