Gnome Cake

This has been a busy month and the last week of it is only going to get busier! I'm co-hosting a Halloween party that will also serve as my Betrothed's birthday party this weekend, which means I have lots of planning and baked goodies ahead.

But for now, I must share this cute little gnome cake that I made a little bit ago. I never thought I'd ever say that, but I'm definitely glad I took the challenge. The cake was for my very tall, very good friend, Joe. He loves to call out other people's height challenges (for example: he calls me "Shortness"). But it's all out of love, so I let it slide (for now mwahahaha). Rather, he was ordering it for his mom.

I made a 6" yellow cake as the tree stump.  I made it from scratch, but I'm not sure about revealing the recipe just yet because I may have to shop around for a better recipe. If anyone has any recipe suggestions for yellow cake, I am totally open to trying them!

So anyhoo, I made a half batch of rice treats and molded a basic gnome shape. I attached the different parts with a bit of icing. Then I ate the rest (hey I didn't want to waste it!)

Then I added a thin layer of buttercream to the outside, and I covered each part from the bottom up. After I got the basic parts covered, I went back and added hair, arms and an apron as well as a pair of glasses made from thick fondant circles and vermicelli. 

I was happy with how it turned out! I think the gnome challenge was successfully completed!

Luckily Joe's mom has an awesome sense of humor, so she liked the cake. :)

Once Upon A Time Cake!

Evening, all!

So I am a new fan of the ABC series Once Upon A Time. It has all of the classic fairy tale characters-- plus a twist. I love it! So when I was commissioned to make a cake with this theme, I was all for it!

 I started with my now- trusty chocolate cake recipe (the cake was to be a 6" cake, so I used the rest of the batter to make 24 yummy mini cupcakes). Then I filled the layers with my trusty cream cheese buttercream recipe. I planned on using an edible image, so I iced the cake in regular white buttercream.

After a bit of thought, I went with a few key symbols from the show: The evil queen's mirror, her bowl of apples, Snow White's poisoned apple (complete with a little bite), the Mad Hatter's hat, and the fairy tale book that started it all called Once Upon A Time. I added some black swirls on the side (which my friend pointed out looked like the mayor's office), and voila!

I must add that my scrollwork has greatly improved. I feel like I've added much Caking XP to my repertoire-- perhaps enough to gain a level. :)

Side note: I'm, super excited about the second season that premiered this past Sunday. Can't wait to see how the story unfolds!

Oh, and look out for some delicious fall flavors soon! ;)