The Cake Diva Strikes Again...A Baby Shower Cake

I have been at my company for almost a decade. And lets just say its been an education. You know there are always go to people you can count on to help you get what you need.When an opportunity comes around just to say thanks,I seize it. Angela is that person. I remember first really noticing her when she came to my Mothers funeral. I was new and didn't really know a lot of people at work well, but I remember that. She has helped me so much with IT issues,and order processing to meet event deadlines, etc., I am immensely grateful. So when it was announced that we would be giving her a surprise shower on her last day before maternity leave, I volunteered to do the cake at my expense. The cake took about 3 days in construction. The first day making the marzipan baby, bears and moon.

The second day making the cake layers , cooling, freezing, and wrapping, and the 3rd day,assembling the tiers, making both royal icings and crumb icings, rolling and coloring fondant, cutouts, making more figures, and any other last minute touches.

Not to mention making cookies for the favor bags. I have really come to love Dorie Greenspans Perfect Party Cake recipe which I used as a base.The filling was strawberry, and the icicng was Wilton recipe, as didnt want to risk real buttercream, and regfrigerate a fondant covered cake( moisiture build up). I really hope she likes it. Just a small way to say thank you.

It Looks Cute... But This Sweet Pea Cake Tried To Give Me Trouble

Babies are so cute. But behind all that cuteness they can be some messy trouble!My good old friend S (who looks like Liza Minnelli in her Halston/Cabaret days) is going to young hot grandma!And she asked me ( OK I suggested and hinted) to make her daughters Baby Shower cake. The child( yes I still think of her as a child) wanted a Sweet Pea themed cake. Gender neutral( I feel its going to be boy as I type this). Damn! I remember giving the girl Spice Girl clippings from my old magazines. I'm old. I'm not up on Mommy culture and all things baby, so I had to sleuth to find Sweet Peas cakes and deigns. Not much out there but yet its a popular theme.

So I went to Cake Walk , my favorite store, and purchased what I needed. I normally use mixes to provide protection against any disasters. But I loved that Perfect Party Cake recipe from Dori Greenspan. I wanted to use the sponge and butter cream.Normally I use Wilton butter cream made with shortening, but my taste buds wanted the real deal. Who know it would get so warm! In the fridge,out the fridge...... The Mama to be wanted a marbled cake( just divided the batter in to two and added cocoa), strawberry filling, and coconut butter cream. OK , she's pregnant! But her wish was my command. . I used Coconut extract for LorAnne Oils and Creme of Coconut as well. I forgot to get a divider as I was making tiers. So I fashioned one from heavy Styrofoam plates and lollipop sticks for support. And you know what it worked!. My issues were my layers crumbled apart as I tried to rectify a mistake. I pieced it together and filled it up with butter cream and filling. Then I I realized my top layer on the bottom tier had filling on top and no cake. I wasn't thinking!Quick something. I had some fondant that I placed over the filling. It worked. Then I added the second tier, careful to have 3 layers of cake this time. Some more crumble, but it took and was sturdy. This cake wasn't going to master me. and I wasn't going to let my friend down. Thank God I started the day before , because it was more time consuming than normal. I crafted the sweet peas from pastillage and gum paste. I wasn't happy with the cracking of the pastillage. But I was experimenting. I found some great new product that provides the airbrush effect in a can. Its a life saver to hide messy mistakes, smudges, etc. I let it rip. I had to clear the fridge to house the cake as this was real butter cream. Doesn't my sweet pea on top look like Chucky. Wasn't intentional. But in the end it cleaned up good and is cute. Whew! Now the hour and half drive!