year of the dragon...

i have known jaina since high school...we went to JMU together and have also kept in touch in our post-college years...since then she has gotten married to james...her loving husband...

when i first started making cakes...she saw the pink & purple princess cake that i had made for maddy's 1st birthday and jaina said she wanted that cake for her child's 1st birthday...girl OR boy...so naturally i was a little afraid when jaina and james had their adorable son jameson...

luckily (for jameson)...jaina opted to go for a blue & silver dragon themed cake since jameson was born during the year of the dragon...

since i am not an artist by nature, only by precision...i hired my husband as my new sculptor!

i had seen a tradition of having a smash cake for the baby to have their first taste of cake...so i decided to make one for jameson...he loved it and apparently was licking his fist all day!!!

it was an absolute honor to make your son's 1st birthday cake...i wish you all many years of celebrating jameson's birthdays!!!

vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream covered in fondant

march 2013

march 2013

march 2013

march 2013

march 2013

i do domo...

i met clara and anand in harrisonburg during our jmu days. after meeting them i remember thinking that they were two of the genuinely nicest people i had ever met. years later back in nova...when i had heard that they were engaged to be married...i couldn't have been happier for them.

a couple months ago clara and anand were ironing out details for their wedding and though they had set on cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake...they were still looking for a top tier for the cake cutting ceremony. jangeun, one of clara's bridesmaids, is a dear friend of mine. she is probably my biggest supporter...having been the first person to hire me for a cake job. did i mention it was for her wedding? (this can be found in a previous entry)  

anyways...jangeun suggested clara ask me...and ask she did. they were looking for a simple cake to top off their cupcake tower. the cake was requested to be a color that wouldn't get caught in the teeth...as to not make for some embarrassing pictures! the best part of the cake is definitely the domo bride and domo groom. these have to be the cutest wedding cake toppers i have ever seen!

strawberry shortcake covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant decorated with pink pearls

august 2011

as clara and i emailed about details for the cake shown above, she mentioned wanting to surprise anand with a groom's cake. since he loves to break dance she sent me a picture of his favorite shoes and asked if i could make a cake to resemble the shoes. i have been making a few cakes to match invitations recently...but nothing this realistic. this cake took a lot of planning and detailed work...but i was extremely happy with the way the shoes turned out.

the shoebox is strawberry shortcake with vanilla buttercream...the shoes are rice krispy treats with royal icing...all covered and decorated in fondant

august 2011

august 2011

apple for the teacher...

though i have yet to meet marian in person i already know that she is an amazing person. marian has been teaching esol english and fast math for many years and is now retiring to take some time off for herself. not only has she dedicated so much of her time investing students, but she has also raised a daughter who has become a teacher herself. alissa is a co-worker of mine who asked me to make a cake for her mother's retirement party. marian is going to leave the east coast and enjoy sometime on the west coast!

the cake is a strawberry shortcake covered in buttercream frosting. it is covered in fondant and decorated to honor this teacher who has dedicated so much of herself.

june 2011

the apple isn't quite as realistic as i'd hoped...i will definitely need to practice my sculpting.

hats off to the graduate...

i met ellen a couple months ago at a mutual friend's bridal shower and then again at the wedding. when she found out that i had made the wedding cake, ellen was shocked and then proceeded to ask if i had made any graduation cakes. her son was going to graduate from high school so she just threw the idea out there. about a month ago i received an email from ellen requesting this graduation cake. when she told me that her son was graduating from fairfax high school, my high school, i was excited.

the cake was a chocolate oreo cake covered in vanilla buttercream frosting. then covered in fondant and decorated to honor the graduate's years of studying and hard work resulting in his high school graduation.

june 2011

hoped to make the books more realistic looking but had a bit of difficulty working with the rectangular cakes.

the bride...and bridesmaids wore white...

my co-worker michelle said that for the past two years she has been looking for an excuse to ask me to bake her a cake. well...she finally found one! one of her dear friends is getting married, so michelle asked me to bake a cake for her bridal shower. i have never met the bride, but from what i've heard she sounds like an awesome girl! unlike other brides who curse anyone who dares wear white to her wedding, this bride is actually going to dress her bridesmaids in white alongside her. her dress will of course out shine her friends, but i can definitely see how this makes for great photos! men in black...women in white...simple and gorgeous!

the cake is a strawberry shortcake covered in vanilla buttercream frosting.  this was covered in fondant and decorated to honor the bride's fashion sense and her three bridesmaids who are hard at work planning!

june 2011

june 2011

june 2011

babies, blessings, and bath time...

nicollete ava is an incredibly special girl. she was born premie and is still at the hospital getting the best care so that she can be strong and healthy. i cannot wait for her to finally come home to all of the people who love her so much. all of her loved ones threw a baby shower in her honor today.

after hearing about the situation...i wanted more than anything to make this cake as spectacular as possible. i used the invitation as inspiration for the cake. the invitation is yellow with subtle white dots and of course a bath tub filled with various animals. i got a bit of assistance on the animal sculptures from my momma.

the cake was chocolate oreo covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant.  i incorporated some decoration techniques i've used before but made them slightly different.  and of course steamed it at the end.  everything is edible aside from structural cake boards, columns, toothpicks, and the straw.  

april 2011

april 2011

april 2011

april 2011

many thanks to inhar for getting me the job and taking the pictures for me!

slow and steady wins the race...

a couple months ago i had met michelle at a mutual friend's bridal shower where i had made some cupcakes for dessert. saw her again at the wedding where i had made the cake. soon after i received an email from her asking if i'd be interested in making a birthday cake for her nephew rylan. rylan's mom requested a simple cake with strawberries.  michelle then sent me a copy of the invitation that was sent to guests to use as inspiration.

this cake is 2 tiers of strawberry shortcake covered in vanilla buttercream. the cake was covered in fondant and decorated according to the color theme of the invitation. the turtle prince on top is fully edible. the only inedible part of the cake is the printed sign reading "happy 1st birthday rylan"

march 2011

march 2011

these are the hands...

that is the phrase i remember hearing the most as the reverend spoke of what would join quynh and chanh in marriage. quynh and i went to high school and college together...so not only was i thrilled that she was getting married to the man she loved, but also honored that she asked me to make her wedding cake. she wanted a cake that was simple but beautiful. her only request was that it was white based with cascading flowers...oh and that the cake was mocha flavored...because vietnamese people like that! =]

the guest list called for 300 servings of cake. this was my biggest order thus far...but was definitely up for it...especially after jayne & chris' wedding last year for 200 guests. after a few sketches, meetings, texts, and emails with quynh...i was ready to start.

the baking of this cake was much smoother than previous cakes...i think this means i'm slowly getting better at this...or at least that's what i hope it means! the only hiccup that i had along the way was my brother's dog pebbles. as the tiers of cake were cooling outside after filling in the frosting...pebbles decided to sit and lick much of the frosting from between the layers...just before taking a bite of cake. when i brought in the cake...i had to cut 1/4 of the entire tier off to ensure that the remaining cake that would be served was 100% pebbles-free. i had to quickly regroup, run to the store to buy some ingredients, and perform baking surgery on the ruined cake.  of course...pebbles just HAD to dig into the biggest tier.  after a couple hours...the cake was fixed and i was back on track.

this was the first time i attempted to make realistic flowers out of gum paste. i was having fun experimenting with the size and shape of the calla lilies. learned some do's and don'ts of gum paste!

after a total of 20 hours working over a 2 day period...i rushed into the shower to wash off any cake residue and get ready for the wedding. transportation then became the only issue. thankfully my brother willingly carried the fully constructed cake to the car...held it as i drove ever so slowly...and delivered it to the cake table inside the reception hall. i think of it as his making up for his dog's misadventures!

5 tiers of mocha cake filled and covered in vanilla buttercream. each tier was then covered in white fondant, wrapped with a purple fondant ribbon, and then topped with a cascading array of calla lilies and leaves. the tiers were offset to allow for more room for the flowers to sit, but ended up being a unique touch.

march 2011

march 2011

march 2011

the wedding was absolutely wonderful. it was truly a family celebration of the start of quynh and chanh's life together. 

  

the happiest place on earth...

a couple weeks ago, jackie asked me if i had ever made a cake for a retirement party.  my response was "no, but i'd love to try!" i was very enthusiastic because jackie's daughter is the sweet little girl birdie...who i made the birdcage cake for. since she had been the one to jump start my fondant cakes...i felt i had to put the best i could into this one...no matter what she wanted.

the cake is for a co-worker of jackie who is retiring.  the theme is "vintage travel" and the woman happens to LOVE walt disney world.  she apparently travels there twice a year!  jackie gave me creative freedom...but hoped i would incorporate disney world.

the cake was just for display so the inside was styrofoam.

i decided to go with vintage suitcases and hat box in pale shades to go with the theme. then i wanted to add some disney accents. the ticket is an actual copy of the disney world tickets from the 80's.

january 2011

january 2011

i was happy with the overall look of the cake...but still trying to work out little things...like how to get rid of the powdered sugar residue...=[

argyle it is...

i first met emily years ago during college through a mutual friend. over the years we kept in touch here and there by the magic that is facebook. i was thrilled to hear the news of her engagement...and was even more thrilled when she asked me to make her wedding cake.

as we started discussing the details of the cake...it became clear that this would be no ordinary cake. the exact words used by the blushing bride-to-be were "dummy cake". this cake was meant to be a display cake...but was also needed for the cake cutting ceremony at the reception. it took some planning...but all worked out in the end.

this cake is 95% styrofoam. 

there is a small wedge of real lemon cake in the bottom layer for the cake cutting. everything was covered in white fondant. the ribbon on the top and bottom tiers were actual fabric ribbon, whereas the argyle was made from peach fondant diamonds with navy blue royal icing piping. it was tricky getting the wedge of real cake in the layers of styrofoam...but it fit!

november 2010

inhar actually took these photos the same time as the castle ones. much love!!

every girl wants a castle...

i met christy and john many years ago and had a lot of fun times with their amazing two boys. a few years ago...they were blessed with a beautiful daughter claire...who turned 3 this past weekend. i ran into christy a couple months ago and was honored when she asked me to bake a cake for claire's birthday party.

they wanted a princess theme...and to switch things up a bit...i decided to go for a castle. of course keeping it super girly. i must say that this is a great improvement from the very first castle cake i made...sorry min =\ ...but there is def still room for improvement. i'm not sure if it was due to my sheer exhaustion...or my lack of piping skills...(probably both)...but the piping wasn't the greatest. i definitely need major practice!

although i wasn't able to stay for the party...it is my hope that claire loved having her very own castle...even if only for a little while! =]

the cake is a vanilla cake filled with fresh strawberries and a vanilla butter cream. it is covered in fondant and decorated with fondant and butter cream. the princess' dress is all edible as well. the towers contain the only inedible elements.

november 2010

i was so thankful for inhar who came over to take some pictures of the cake before it went out for delivery.

ribbons & tiaras...

madelynn is such a cutie! i know that jason and amanda are so proud to have such a bright and beautiful daughter. together with family and friends on a sunday evening...we celebrated maddy's first birthday.  it was filled with the traditional korean first birthday rituals. stuffing the guests with food...lots of mochi...and making baby maddy sit infront of a few items that would help determine her future.  thanks to uncle thomas...maddy is gonna be a big shopper running up daddy's credit card debt!

cake was a simple vanilla with vanilla buttercream.  decked out in fondant.  tried out some new designs and even fumbled around with a bow.

september 2010

got a great shot again...thanks to inhar.

a little birdie is turning one...

elyse is a sweet little girl who got the nickname "birdie" because of a face she makes with her lips. she is the daughter of a friend...of a friend who was about to celebrate her very first birthday. i was honored that inhar was gracious enough to refer me to her friend.

i gladly accepted the job...but had great hesitation because i had yet to make a full out fondant decor cake. the task at hand was a challenge...but i tried to break it down to simple things i knew i'd be able to accomplish.

since inhar was the photographer at the party...she got some great shots of the cake. you should def check her out inhar photography.

the cake itself was just vanilla with vanilla buttercream...but this was more for display than edibility. 

august 2010

it took some time to get used to the fondant. i definitely enjoyed using my brand new fondant tools. the bird was a tad difficult...since i'm not sculptor...but thankfully this one turned out cute.

fore...

my younger brother binnari was turning 21...and this was not a birthday i wanted to pass him by.  i am proud to be the sister of a future professional golfer =] so for this very special birthday...i wanted to make him a very special cake.  along for the task were two friends...esther and grace.

i'd been seeing a lot of "covered cupcake" cakes recently and had wanted to try one. however...instead of slopping a massive amount of frosting...i decided to use fondant.  the cupcakes were chocolate and vanilla...arranged to create a tricky hole of golf.  

june 2010

nothing about the proportions is correct.  the oversized ball and tee...the tiny replica of my brother...the fact that the green is comparable in size to the fairway.  not to mention the random hearts floating in the water. all in all...i think it was a success. and more importantly...he loved it!

the very first birthday...

your first birthday is a big one...but sadly you're never the one to remember it.  sophia is the daughter of a friend's cousin and is a very special girl!  for her first birthday...her parents planned out an big party for her at a restaurant all decorated in lavender, silver, white, and pink.  the perfect combination of colors for a darling girl.  the order was for 80 regular cupcakes and 1 giant cupcake just for the birthday girl.

a mixture of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes...topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting tinted to fit the party theme...with a little touch of fondant hearts and stars.  

june 2010

june 2010

sadly the picture i took of the giant cupcake got lost on my phone.  however...it was much improved on the first giant cupcake.  it was decorated to mimic the smaller purple cupcake.  i covered the bottom in fondant and painted it with edible silver glitter.  then covered the top in purple vanilla buttercream.  with a sprinkling of edible heart shaped sequins.

every girl is a princess at heart...

one of my dear friends' daughter was turning 3. bethany is one of the smartest little girls i know! among her many favorites are disney princesses, the color yellow, cherries, and word world...all of which are found on this cake.

this was my first chocolate cake from scratch! all the frosting was from scratch too. the only "store bought" items were the fondant and top half of the princess.

the bottom base is filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream...then covered with green vine-imprinted fondant.  the princess' dress is completely edible...covered in vanilla cream cheese frosting.  the top part of the dress is fondant...which took a while to match the color with the frosting.  

march 2010

the letters CAKE mimic a tv show that is a family favorite where all things are created by the spelling of its name.  the cherries were by request of the birthday girl...and were immediately eaten the second she blew the candles out!