Where Designs Come From

Sometimes customers will have the exact cake design in mind when they place an order right down to the ribbon on the board and the color of the of the inscription. Nothing is better than knowing what you want! (although I always have the caveat that I can't simply duplicate a design from a picture--every customer deserves to have a cake custom designed for them!) 

More often though customers have a theme or an color palette they want to work with--and this is when designing gets fun! If it is available, one of the best articles to work from is the invitation to the party!  The invitation gives me an idea of colors, theme, and the personality of the party.  

 

 This was an adorable baby shower cake that was designed based on the invitation.  The party originally started out as a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, but as the idea grew the planners wanted to include more vintage toys and books into the decorating.  The table centerpieces had all sorts of old bears, etch-a-sketch, pull telephones, and wooden blocks.  The cake did a great job pulling together the original invitation and the expanded theme.

This First Birthday cake was an amalgamation of a few different cake elements pulled together to create one frilly and festive cake for the birthday girl. The party theme was pulled together by the invitation with blue, rose, yellow and pink colors with polka dots and the requested frills of the rosettes. The striped "1" topper is echoed in the striped candle on the graphic.

This little boy had a high-flying first birthday with an entire airplane theme party!  Custom graphic had the invitation as a boarding pass, so naturally I wanted to make sure the cake and cupcakes soared with style.  The cake featured a sculpted, fondant-covered Rice Krispy Treat airplane topper on a buttercream cake with clouds on the sides.  The coordinating cupcakes were also finished with a stand up cloud topper. 

The great thing about working with a custom cake designer is that you aren't limited to choosing a cake out of a book.  Each cake is designed especially for you: from the decadent cake flavors and style of buttercream right down to the pearls on the crown. And if you don't want to make ALL those decisions, just provide a little inspiration and let the designer work some sugar magic. 

It's been a while...

Hello out there in bloggerland!  Thank you for stopping by and I apologize for leaving this blog hanging for the past few months.  While I love the intimacy of the blog format for sharing cakes and stories of how they have come to be, the gravitational pull of Facebook has conquered the weekly show and tell of Sugar Song Cake. 

 It has been a busy winter season for me, and I have had the opportunity to make many beautiful cakes for so many lovely customers!  I think that most anyone who is reading this blog now is also following me on Facebook, but if not I invite you to stop by and see what is happening!  You can find Sugar Song at:

 www.facebook.com/SugarSongCakes

or on my new website:

www.sugarsongcakes.com


This blog is going dormant for a while, (unless there is some great outcry for mildly witty cake prose to go with some kick ass cakes.) In the meantime check me out above and keep it sweet! Hope to see you soon.

A Home Run Wedding

When a boy proposes to his true love on opening day at Fenway, its no surprise that they would want to incorporate a love for their favorite sport into the day they celebrate their love for each other. The bride was very involved with the design of the cake, which shows the perfect balance of bridal elegance and whimsey.

This cake is done in 12", 9", and 6" rounds covered in white fondant. The bottom tier had tone on tone baseball bat cut outs. Small polka dot baseballs in the wedding colors of burgundy and gold decorate the middle tier. The top tier is completed with baseball stitching. Bringing the theme together is the porcelain keepsake at bat bride and pitching groom topper. To complete the display there is a stadium display of red velvet cupcakes with fondant baseball toppers.

Special thank you to Damon Zirkler Photography for photography.

A Day in the Park

Happy Birthday to my own little boy, who really just wanted a party in the park where he can finally ride the 'big boy slide.'  This is a half 8" cake over a 10", covered in fondant with sugar paste for the hardened decorations like the slide and the red jungle gym elements.  

To make sure that Carter could have his cake and eat it too, this is a vegan cake (especially with the range of allergies at school, vegan is becoming a much more inclusive choice). The bottom tier is dark chocolate with All American buttercream and the top layer is cherry vanilla with cherry vanilla buttercream.  It's always fun to see the brief flash of disappointment flash across someone's face when I say that the cake is 'vegan,' only later to hear raves about how good the cake is--and not just good for vegan, but actually really great! 

Hello Birthday

Everyone's favorite Kitty knows how to wish her fans the happiest of birthdays. This is small celebration cake: 8" round finished in cream cheese buttercream--a perfect choice for three luscious layers of red velvet cake. Kitty is a sugar paste plaque and while (technically) edible, would be best removed before cutting and serving the cake. 

A Grown Up Birthday Cake with Just Enough Sparkle

Not too young and not too stuffy, pink, black and white have a youthful sophistication when used in classic harlequin diamonds and fancy scrolls. And to make sure there is just enough pizazz for the party, disco dust dipped oversized pearls and a lush pearl dust finish complete the cake.  The topper and bow are made from sugar paste.  This design here is done with a 6" over an 8", but can be interpreted in a larger cake as well. 

The Anniversary Cake

To save or not to save? That is a serious wedding cake question. I'm a sucker for tradition, but I also love the idea of a fresh tier baked and decorated on the first anniversary. Which is exactly what this cake is: an anniversary cake for a beautiful couple who were wed last summer in Sedona, AZ. I did the bride's favorite flavor from their wedding cake: red chile chocolate with whipped red chile chocolate ganache filling. 

Their original cake was done in chocolate fondant with baby blue accents, and so this anniversary cake is a rift on that original design. Because the anniversary cake would be handled less (no stacking or traveling 4+ hours!), I kept it in a delectable ganache finish with sugar paste flowers and a fondant ribbon. 

Of course my favorite part of this cake was sharing in an anniversary celebration with the Povios when they made a trip down to Tucson.  There is very little more rewarding than making cakes for my dear friends and being rewarded with their generosity of love and friendship in return.