My Fathers Birthday Cake

Im finally up and at it again ~ it's been quite the summer this year, with college preparations and tours. I apologize for the blogs stagnant being for the past month. But no worries! Recently it my was fathers birthday and as a surprise I crafted him this delicious red velvet cake with an amazing cream cheese frosting. In fact, the frosting was SO delicious that about half of my total batch was gone before I was even able to frost the cake! Thanks, mom and sister! *wink wink*

Anyways, unlike the rest of my cakes on this blog, I decided to try out an actual boxed cake mix this time. I experimented with the Duff red velvet cake mix, which surprisingly came out extremely moist and flavorful! Yet, it still didn't quite measure up to my own red/purple/blue velvet cake mixes. I grabbed two boxes of this stuff from Michaels on sale for $3 a box... c'mon, I had to! Cake mix that is originally $7.00 a box for $3? Count me in! After mixing the batter and baking just two 12 inch rounds, I let them cool for a day in the refrigerator while I bought the necessary ingredients for my cream cheese frosting: butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and vanilla. Now, the only reason why this frosting came out phenomenal was because of how long I allowed it to mix for. After just three minutes of mixing all of the ingredients combined, the frosting was very thin and shiny. After five, the frosting still maintained its thin consistency, yet started to become more matte. After ten, the frosting was then firmed up and thick, as it should be. I then beat it for a another five minutes, then out came the perfect frosting! Very light yet thick, not too runny yet not too stiff. Perfect!

After stacking the two cakes together with a  thick layer of frosting in between, I crumb coated the cake, then popped it in the refrigerator for an hour or so while I began to roll and dye my fondant. Once chilled, I frosted a second, smoother layer of frosting on the cake then rolled on a large green sheet of fondant for the base. Following the green layer, I cut a random shape of blue fondant then placed that gently on top of the cake to resemble the lake. the marble effect was achieved by mixing dark blue, light blue, and white together just enough to blend the colors.

I then sculpted out the boat, mushrooms, and rocks, followed by crafting those tricky little cat tails, pr punks. Those are the only parts of the cake that are NOT edible, since the bases are structured by toothpicks. I wrapped green fondant around toothpicks to craft the stem, then slipped on a small amount of brown to form the punk. The only edible punks on this cake are the ones that rest on the side of the cake. Those, along with the leaves, are stuck on with edible adhesive glue. Amazing stuff, I must say! I then took the remaining frosting, dyed it green, then used it as grass over the top of the cake.

Gum paste was then used to craft the little man, his arms, ad the fishing pole and line. I'll tell you what- that stuff gets really hard, really fast. It's great for sculpting figures, and I could have used it for the punks. However, I bought the gum paste after completing the nature scene of the cake.

Then voila! My cake was complete, and my father was beyond astonished and ecstatic!

Hello everyone!
I have been away due to a family emergency for the past week, and couldn't get the time to post any new projects. However, there will be one up soon within the next week! Any cake suggestions? I'd love a theme idea!

Abstract Flower Cake

Mmmm, nothings better to me than a red velvet cake with some homemade cream cheese frosting! I created this moist red velvet cake for my family, since I felt the need to bake with out any pending orders. Subtle blue and white colors spread throughout the cake, while a few black accents catch the eye. The ribbon tie effect on the cake is one of my favorites~it seems to add more of a "gift" feeling towards it. This type of cake would be perfect for any small get together parties or non-formal events.

I began by baking my red velvet cake, and while allowing it to cool, I whipped up a large batch of my own marshmallow fondant (this stuff tastes like heaven, I must say!). Using some allergen free food dye, I began dying the fondant to my desired blue color, and began to roll it out for the cake!

~I then let my imagination break loose.~

All out of nowhere, I began to see white textured fondant ribbon wrapped over the cake, and I found myself cutting out small black and white fondant polka dots which I glued on using edible adhesive. I then sculpted out a beautiful light blue flower to top the cake with, accompanied with a long green swirling stem.

And let me tell you, this cake was DELICIOUS. My sister, of all people, who hates the taste of fondant, ate more than half of the cake, picking off little pieces of fondant here and there just to pop in her mouth. Wow!

This style of cake can be altered to fit any of your party needs- whether it be a baby shower, birthday party, or special occasion, this ribbon wrapped cake will sure be the perfect match for you.

Pokemon Themed Tier Cake

This cake was created for a surprise birthday party, and boy was he surprised with this cake! This vanilla, two tiered cake accompanied with vanilla buttercream frosting surprised the eyes as well as the taste buds! Light blue marshmallow fondant served as this young boys favorite color, as edible paper outlined with edible marker spells out Happy Birthday. Edible paper was also used on the sides of this cake to create 2D edible Pokeballs. Yum!

For the top of the cake, it was requested that I use real collectible Pokemon figures rather than fondant sculptures. So I added two of his favorite Legendary Pokemon on top, Mewtew and Entei, and glued them down with a swirl of red and blue frosting to pair with the red/blue accent theme.

Fondant balls and snakes were used at the bottoms of each tier to neaten up the cake, and give it even more character.

~This cake was so much fun to make!~

Customize this cake to your own interests! Whether you or your son/daughter/mother/etc is into video games or television shows, this style cake can be themed towards anything!

Winter Rainbow Cake!

What's better than a small pop of color in the midst of a grey winter? A rainbow cake during a snow storm, or course! I crafted this rainbow golden cake during the horrible winter storm Nemo, and it just made the next few days of snow more bright. The fun part about making this rainbow cake was that I used different colored jello packets to color the batter rather than food coloring, since I thought that it would add a nice pop of color and flavor. And it most certainly did!

The fruity flavors of this cake were boldly present, but not overwhelming in the slightest bit. To pair up with the Fruit Loop like flavor of the cake, I whipped up a batch of faint vanilla buttercream frosting. I added half the amount of vanilla that I usually do, which gave the frosting a more sugary based flavor, which paired up with the fruitiness of the cake perfectly, without expressing too much flavor. Although the cake is only one full layer, the flavors prohibit the need for any more frosting. It is beyond perfect without all of it!

Now, the fondant work was themed all around the winter storm I was stuck in, so I decided to shape out a large fondant snowflake.

I decided to go with both light and dark blues to grasp the essence of winter, and used those colors to pull the cake together, adding clean sides to the cake. Then voila! My wintery, rainbow cake was complete.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes ~ Delicious!

A couple days ago, after taking a walk through the salty air of the Old Port, I began to crave a salty yet sweet snack. It was then that I realized I had the perfect ingredients to create these amazing salted caramel morsel cupcakes ~ all for myself! Mmm, this is why I love living here...the inspiration I get is like no other!

So I just started with making my traditional chocolate cupcakes, and let them cool for a good while after baking. While they were cooling, I created a salted caramel sauce that would then be injected into each cupcake, allowing the chocolate cake to absorb all the moisture. This not only adds a surprise, complimentary flavor to the cupcakes, but it also creates a moist center like no other. Its phenomenal!

Then I whipped up my traditional chocolate buttercream frosting to pipe on top of each cupcake (a generous amount! Whats a cupcake without its frosting?), then topped each off with a drizzle of the leftover salted caramel sauce. Slowly after, the drizzle on top began to harden into a slightly chewy, sweet and salty garnish. Mmm mmm mmm! These were probably the most cherished cupcakes I've ever whipped up! I believe it is the touch of inspiration that led these cupcakes to be so delicious.

Adventure Time! Finn and Jake Cake

Not only was the idea of this themed cake extraordinary, but the cake itself was as well! It'll just make you want to shout "Oh My Glob!".  It's exterior simplicity reflects on Adventure Time's simple cartoon theme, while its chocolate and caramel interior offers a more intermediate side of things.  A sweet yet slightly salty caramel buttercream frosting also lies between each chocolate cake layer. Yum!


Surprisingly, no edible paper was used this time; this cake is 100% fondant! The eyes, nose, mouth, tongue teeth, ears, you name it - are all cut and sculpted from fondant. Although edible paper can be extremely useful on certain cakes, fondant allows for the cake to demonstrate more of its own dimension.

As if Finn wasn't enough character for this fun cake, I then sculpted a miniature Jake the Dog character to place sitting on the edge of the cake.
~ Isn't Jake just the best? ~
I had to incorporate him, or the cake would have felt incomplete without him! Finn and Jake are always together, and by having the contrast of small Jake next to Finn reminds people of Jakes size and shape changing abilities.

For the bottom of the cake, I just piped along the side some vibrant green frosting to give the appearance of grass, and to clean up the sides of the cake a bit. Then voila! This spectacular yet simple cake is now in existence.

"Blue" Guitar Replica Cake

As a die hard Green Day fan a couple years back, I decided to take on the challenge of recreating Billie Joe Armstrong's favorite guitar ~ Blue. Although it was quite difficult figuring out which "version" of his guitar I should recreate as a cake (since he constantly adds on new stickers over the old ones), I managed to incorporate all of the time periods together into one, cleaner looking guitar cake.

This is a simple vanilla cream cake with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream frosting beneath the fondant and edible paper (gosh, I love that stuff! It's so thin and just melts delightfully in your mouth).

Now, who said fondant has to be store bought?

This was the first cake I created using this amazing recipe with just marshmallows, confectioners sugar, and water. I was very impressed with it's taste and pliability! It gave me freedom to create which ever colors I wanted to, without buying a whole new tub of fondant.

I am most proud of this one cake, since it took me quite a while getting the details exact. Each sticker accurately resembles one sticker that Billie has added to his guitar every 5 years. It has so much meaning!

A few non-edible aspects were added by request to the cake, such as a real purple guitar pick, and a miniature felt bear. These non edible accents can be added by request, whether it be part of a meaningful aspect on the cake, or if you simply enjoy the looks of it better than sculpted fondant.

No Fondant White Cat Cake

Last year, a good friend of mine was throwing a surprise birthday party for his younger sister, who is more than obsessed with cats! Since she was turning 7, we all agreed that fondant may not be too suitable for her young taste, so I went with a fluffy, homemade vanilla frosting to go over the chocolate cake.

Butter Cream Vanilla Frosting
1/2 Cup  (115 Grams) of Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 - 2 Cups (340 - 450 Grams) of Confectioners Sugar
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Milk
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Sift your powdered sugar into a separate bowl.
Beat the butter on Medium - High speed until light and fluffy (Approximately 5 Minutes).
Slowly add in your confectioners sugar, approximately 1/2 cup (115 grams) at a time, beating thoroughly with each addition.
Once all your confectioners sugar is nicely incorporated with the butter, your mixture will be very thick. Now slowly add in your milk and vanilla, until your desired frosting constancy is reached.



Since her favorite part about cake in general is the frosting, I made this cake three layers, with a generous amount of frosting between each layer.

Now, the frosting was simply piped on the exterior of the cake with a small nosed tip, giving the cake a fur-like texture. For the ears, I just took some leftover scrap cake pieces and cut them into triangles and stuck them onto the top of the cake, and then frosted over it, placing a triangle of edible paper to resemble the inner ear.
Edible paper was also used for the nose (a pink jelly bean) and whisker (licorice strings) area of the cat below the eyes, which are mini York peppermint patties.

If you desire an animal cake of any sort, feel free to shoot me over an email at beyondcakespectations@gmail.com! From cats to elephants to dogs...whatever you may wish for your birthday or celebration plans!

First Cake ~ Punk Rock Green Day Cake

Whether the occasion may be a friends birthday or a grey rainy day, baking and decorating cakes always seem to be a fun idea. Honestly ~ I've even baked a few cakes for myself on occasion! For my own 15th birthday a couple years back, a punk rock themed cake seemed to be ideal, so I designed my very own Green Day mini tier cake! This was my first ever attempt at using fondant, and I have to say it came out splendid! In a matter of fact, a whole lot better than I expected!


I simply used Duff's pre-coloured fondant for this cake, rolling it out then cutting each piece to its desired shape using an Exacto-Knife (For the Green Day lettering, Heart grenade shapes, piano keys, and the guitar details). For the larger, more bulky shape of the guitar, I simply hand shaped the fondant, then held the overall shape together with a toothpick. Super easy!

Then what way else is there to finish up this rockin' cake other than some edible glitter? So I sprinkled a generous amount of that amazingness on the bottom tier, and then spelt out "Happy Birthday Nikki" with black icing on top, surrounded by musical notes.

If you enjoy the musical theme of this miniature, small party sized cake, you can order your own customized one by emailing me at beyondcakespectations@gmail.com. Maybe you're more into Maroon 5, Fallout Boy, or even Beethoven...which are all just a few of the many themes I can do.