How pretty is this cake?! I was given basic guidelines for this cake-make it girly, pink and white. I’ve been dreaming of trying my hand at ruffle roses and this was my chance! I kept the top tier simple with an over-sized bow because the bottom tier was so busy and full of gorgeous texture.

Here is a closer look at the ruffle roses. I cut thin strips of hot pink fondant and ruffled one edge with a ball tool. Then I glued the strips to the cake in a circle pattern starting from the outside in. After the round roses were all attached to the cake I filled in the gaps with extra ruffles. This technique definitely took some time to do but it was well worth the effort. This cake is girly and elegant.

The bow on top was made from gum paste, not fondant, because it rolls thinner and dries harder and faster. The pink stripes are fondant, the same color I used for the ruffle roses. The bow was made a few days in advance so they would dry nicely. The ends of the bow were made when I was ready to attach the center bow to the cake so that I could drape them perfectly into place. The simple pearl border finishes this cake beautifully!

I am  never out of ideas when it comes to pretty cakes. This cake was made for a Great Gatsby/art deco themed wedding party. I was asked to add feathers and pearls as well as make it pink, ivory, and gold. This cake turned out even prettier than I had in mind!

Here is a better look at the bottom tier. I used a fish scale cutter to make the imprint in the fondant. I pressed the cutter in all the way around the cake. Then I used a ball tool to make the pattern deeper and more pronounced. I draped fondant pearls around the cake and painted them with an ivory shimmer color. Around the base of the cake I made ruffles out of circles of fondant. Once those were dry, I painted the edges with gold shimmer color.

The feathers are my favorite part of this cake. I used my feather cutters (purchase them here) to cut out gum paste in different sizes. Then I used a toothpick or something thin and sharp to etch lines in the gum paste. I allowed the feathers to dry on a piece of crumpled tin foil to give the feathers movement. Once the feathers were dry, I airbrushed them in gold. The hardest part was arranging them on the cake without breaking them. It’s good that I always make extras because I dropped and broke a few while figuring out the placement. I love how elegant this cake turned out and I would love to make it again!

How cute are first birthday cakes?! This cake was a combination of a few cakes I have made before. The blocks were taken from this silhouette first birthday cake. The font was inspired by the actual Disney font and was used on this cake. The actual cake was inspired by this first birthday cake from a few years ago.

Here is a look at the top tier with the Minnie Mouse ears. The Minnie head is actually made out of cake that I bake in a bowl giving me the perfect shape and is a lot easier than making rice crispy treats. The ears are made in advance so they can harden as they dry. I made the ears out of black fondant that had some tylose powder added. The bow topper was also made in advance and allowed to dry. This top tier and Minnie hat would make it’s own cute cake on it’s own! The font really brings the cake to life. I used my 3D printer to make some font cutters so I wouldn’t have to cut each letter out (like I have done in the past).

The baby blocks were made out of gum paste. I cut 6 squares of gum paste for each block and allowed them to harden overnight. Once dry, I built the boxes using stiff royal icing. Once the royal icing was dry and the boxes were strong, I added the cute lettering to each box. Happy first birthday Celia!