Polka Dot Gift Cake

This cake was done for a good friend of mine who was taking it to Cleveland for her sister-in-law's baby shower. The invitations were adorable--gifts stacked up in a little wagon in various shades of turquoise and brown--so I decided it would be nice to go with that color scheme and theme for the cake. Inside the "gift" was three layers of classic white cake, filled with a rich and creamy chocolate buttercream. The bow was made of vanilla fondant and the polka dots were dark chocolate fondant.

Yo Gabba Gabba

My sweet little niece just turned one! To mark the event, I wanted to do a fun and special cake for her. Sera really likes this fuzzy little green character named Brobee on the kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba.  Every time she sees him, her face lights up.

The design was centered around a color scheme that matched the party plates with Brobee looking as if he is bursting through the cake The flavors were dark chocolate cake with cookies & cream buttercream and classic white cake with melt-in-your-mouth Italian meringue buttercream.

On the day of the party, I took her in to see the cake and her reaction was priceless ... she blew kisses to it!

Scouting Cake

This dark chocolate cake with cookies & cream filling was done for my son's Cub Scout event. The top of the cake includes the pack number and an overhand knot made out of fondant. The blue & yellow color scheme and the banner with the Cub Scout motto of "Do Your Best" (written in edible marker by my son) completes the theme.

National Capital Area Cake Show

I just came back from Virginia, where I attended the National Capital Area Cake Show. This show is one of the biggest in the country and is attended by many of the top sugar artists.  Attendees have the opportunity to take classes, attend demonstrations, watch live cake challenges and compete in a wedding cake or themed competition. While I was there, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend classes taught by two of my absolute favorite cake designers, Anne Heap of the Pink Cake Box (www.pinkcakebox.com)  and Zane Beg of The Sweet Life (www.thesweetlife.com). If they look a little familiar, it may be because you have seen one or both of these incredibily talented people compete on the Food Network Challenge and TLC's Ultimate Cake-Off. With instructors like Zane and Anne, it is hard to go wrong! Here are a few pictures of my completed cakes:

This cute little dragon is "busting out" of the cake!

With the ever-so-talented Zane Beg!

I embellished my jungle birthday cake topper with jungle leaves and the number two
 when I got home

The fine details

With Anne Heap--one of my idols in the world of cake!