Icing Smiles for an Amazing Little Princess

". . . and she was the fairest princess in the land, kept safe away in a castle of diamonds and pearls." Sounds like a lovely fairy tale sure to follow with a strong knight on white horseback and a happily ever after, right? Now, let me tell you that the little girl this cake was made for has indeed spent her first year kept in safety, but it's the safety of the PICU and Diamond Children's hospital. The little princess is getting stronger and healthier everyday, thanks to her medical team of strong knights and fairy godmothers, and most of all of her parents who have more love for her than the kingdom has ever seen. 

I was asked to make a special cake for this family on a referral from Icing Smiles, Inc, a non-profit network of bakers who provide custom celebration cakes and treats to families impacted by critical illness of a child. The family (in this case the hospital's Child Life Specialist took over as the mother had her hands full with the care of her daughter) contacts Icing Smiles and then a call to action is sent out to bakers in the area. Then a theme, colors and flavor are decided upon, and the cake designer takes it from there. Children in the hospital usually have their cakes delivered to make it a bit easier for the family. 

The cake is a 6" atop a 10" made in dark chocolate and filled with whipped chocolate ganache buttercream. The frosting is All-American buttercream in soft pink, with pink and white swirled together for the luscious rosettes.  The castle that wraps all the way around the first layer and banner are made of fondant painted with luster dust and edible pearls. The crown is from gum paste and fondant, also painted with luster dust, and finished with pearls and a sprinkle of disco dust.

I hope this little princess and her family had a wonderful birthday up on the 6th floor, and soon she will leave her castle behind and take off to explore the magical kingdom that awaits her.

**Update: Follow this link to the Icing Smiles FaceBook Album that has photos of the birthday girl and of her proud parents at her birthday party. Best Wishes and prayers for a quick homecoming to this lovely family.

Thank Heaven for Pretty Cakes

Building on a beautiful technique, this birthday cake takes the rosette swirl to a place of birthday perfection. This is an 8", two layer base cake with a 5" top tier. At the birthday girl's request the cake was a vanilla princess sour cream cake with American buttercream. 

Large piped rosettes enrobe the lower tier, while the top is smooth buttercream done in a quilted pattern and finished with a ruffle border and edible pearls. Birthday wishes and space for 5 candles made this a lovely centerpiece for an afternoon birthday party.

Swirls and Twirls: a Red Velvet with Rosettes

I love this cake. I mean really love--in a sit back and just let me look at you, kind of way. I had seen several incarnation of this design on the internet (that originated on the 'i am mommy' blog), and I was immediately smitten. I had to try it, only instead of pure ivory I added a stripe of pink tinted buttercream to the cream cheese buttercream for the rosettes. The cake is an 8", two layer red velvet cake with cream cheese buttercream. Such a simple idea that has a big and beautiful impact.