Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake

This cake is all about the taste. My dad loves cheesecake and I've tried a variety of favors on him. For this cake I took the recipe for a traditional cheesecake and substituted cinnamon for the lemon zest and pureed apple pie filling for the lemon juice. I also added cinnamon to the graham craker crust and topped the cake with a apples from the apple pie filling. YUM.

9 inch round Congratulations Cake

Vanilla cake filled and iced with butter cream icing.

Chocolate cake with Peanut Butter Icing

I called this my "just because" cake. My family loves chocolate cake with peanut butter icing so this time I got creative and iced the cake with a star print on top and piped icing vertically up the side to look like ribbon.

First Communion, Confirmation, Baptism Cross Cake

This cross shaped cake is chocolate with white butter cream icing adorned in roses.

BAM BAM/Flinstones Baby's First Birthday Cake
This was by far my favorite cake to design and decorate. Again using the teddy bear molded pan I cut the ears and snout off when ready to decorate. I piped icing on the baby using the triple star tip in the appropriate colors. Instead of a traditional border I using yogurt covered raisins to simulate the look of rocks or pebbles.  The only non edible part of the cake is the googly eyes which could easily be done with piped icing too.

Thomas Train Kids Birthday Cake
This 8 inch round cake is designed with the popular character in mind.

Superman Baby Cake for Shower
This cake was fun to do. All the icing is butter cream in various colors. To make the baby I used a teddy molded pan. Once the cake was ready to be decorated I cut the ears and snout off the bear and used the triple star tip to color the baby. The cape is made of red rolled fondant. Everything else is butter cream icing.

Character Cakes ~ Cats/Dogs Ruff Ruffman
These sheet cakes were done using wax paper and clear piping gel to trace the design onto the cake and then filled with piped icing.

Special Occasion Sheet Cakes

Scooby Doo Birthday Cake
1/2 Sheet cake...chocolate with peanut butter icing and chocolate piped icing for the border and design. This design I drew free-hand with no problem.

Construction Trucks Kids Birthday Cake
1/2 sheet cake with chocolate icing and matchbox construction vehicles pushing m & m's around. I used the m & m's in place of a border and placed piles of the candies near/in the trucks.

Rose Cakes
These 9 inch round filled cakes are decorated with butter cream roses in a specified color theme.

6 inch Birthday Cakes/Football/Tie Dye/Autumn Themes

These cakes were made for a family birthday gathering. Each has a different color scheme or theme. The tie-dye cakes are done with a combination of 2 colors of spray food coloring. The autumn leaves, acorn and football are plastic decorations.

Tinkerbell Birthday Cake
I did not do as well with the free hand for this cake. If I were to do it again I would use the clear piping gel with wax paper to trace the design for more accuracy. When I brought the cake to Jenessa (my little neighbor whose like a niece to me) I asked her who was on the cake and she said "Tinkerbell of course" and as long as she liked it I was happy but I realize it could have been better. I've since learned the technique to use when free-hand isn't an easy option.

Sweet Pea Baby Shower Cake
For this cake I used the invitation for my sister's baby shower to duplicate the design. The entire design is done free hand using gel icing. I piped butter cream icing for the border. I iced the cake in white and then sprayed the edges of the design with spray food coloring to give the airbrush look to it and added green sugar for an accent.

Pac Man Cake
This 1/2 sheet cake is a marble vanilla/choc cake with chocolate butter cream icing. I piped the design using a picture of the pac man board as a guide making pac man a little larger to stand out.

Confirmation/First Communion Cake

This cake is a 1/2 sheet cake with a 1/4 sheet cross as a second layer, butter cream icing between layers and piped for the border.

Sweet 16 Cake

This 1/2 sheet cake is decorated using the same techniques I used with the Yankee cake. Using mini brownies to shape the 16 I then piped a star pattern over the brownies to give it that raised look. The party colors were black pink and silver so I used shades of pink icing, black writing and silver glitter sprinkles to decorate.

Simple 6 inch Design

Two simple layers 6 inch pan filled with chocolate butter cream icing with simple decorations.

Yankees Cake

Simple design for the NY baseball fan...I made a simple 1/4 sheet cake and iced it. Using a #21 tip I put the border around the bottom. I then cut used mini brownies to make the NY logo and piped a star print over it to give the logo the raised look.

Reeses's Peanut Butter Cup Cake

My brother-in-law is a a huge fan of Reese's cups. For his birthday I made this chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter butter cream icing. 9"x3" pan then I split it into 2 layers to fill with icing. I smoothly iced the top and then piped using a #21 tip vertically around the sides of the cake, piped swirls of icing to stick the mini cups on the cake and then surrounded the cake with mini cups.

Snake Cake

My niece was having her 11th birthday party at a nature center and requested I make her a snake cake. For this cake I made a 3 tier cake 9 inch, 8 inch and 6 inch round. Each layer is a different flavor for variety. Butter cream icing in leaf green on the cake and base of the display. Then I rolled fondant in ropes of various lengths to make the snakes making the mama snake around the cake a little thicker with cut triangles for a design. I used piped dark green icing to make the grass on the side of each layer and leaves around the baby snakes. Then I gave each snake eyes and cut a small piece of fruit roll up for the tongue of the mama snake.