Life is a Fairway

Today I created this cute little golf cake for Ryan's surprise 30th birthday party.  His lovely wife had chosen the design, and I was asked to recreate it.  I thought it was such a fun idea for a golf lover!  I hope Ryan has a wonderful time as he turns the big 3-0!

Sour cream pound cake, vanilla buttercream filling, all buttercream outside.  Ball and flag are fondant.

Sunny Days

Today might be the absolute polar opposite of a sunny day, but hopefully this little cutie-cake will bring some brightness to Caroline's birthday!.  Caroline's daughter had asked me to make a cake for her mom, and she wanted it to have a "giant sunflower" on it.  Done!  Love these little minis-- perfect for small celebrations.  I'm pleased with the way it turned out-- summery and bright, and I hope Caroline and her family enjoy it!

Sour cream pound cake, hazelnut filling, buttercream frosting with fondant accents.

Winter Wonderland

Today I delivered a cake for Cate's birthday party.  She's turning the big 5-0 2-9 and was celebrating with a silvery white winter themed bash.  I sent her a few ideas and cake sketches, and this is what we decided upon-- silvery white with a whole lot of "bling"!  I made the topper out of fabric ribbon and a rhinestone Christmas ornament snowflake.  The cake board was embossed with snowflakes to tie everything together.
It should be a gorgeous party in her gorgeous home, and I hope everyone has a wonderful time!  Happy birthday, Cate!

Chocolate cake, chocolate hazelnut filling, buttercream frosting.  Handpainted with edible silver glaze to give a little sparkle. :-) **click on pictures if you need to, the details are hard to see!**

Go Eagles!

Today I made a combo birthday/graduation cake for Bill.  I do not know Bill, but it sounds like he's having a heck of a weekend!  My sweet cousin Millicent ordered this cake for a friend of hers, and I enjoyed making it because both Mill and my brother-in-law Seth are current Georgia Southern students.  (As UGA football didn't quite pan out for me this year, I am throwing support to the Eagles!)
I hope Bill enjoys his cake!  Happy birthday and congratulations!!

Sour cream pound cake, fudge filling, buttercream frosting with fondant eagle plaque.

Custom Cupcakes

This evening I, with my superbest delivery assistant (aka my sister), set up a cupcake display for the North Gwinnett football banquet.  It consisted of 75 cupcakes in 3 different flavors.  My client, Sandy, had asked for a way to display the cupcakes while incorporating the team colors of red, black, and white.
I created for her 3 separate three-tier towers, one for each flavor.  They are covered in coordinating cardstock and ribbon to match the event decor, and they are designed to be completely disposable at the end of the night.  Nobody wants to have to worry about washing and returning borrowed bakery equipment!
I hope everyone enjoys them!!

Red velvet with cream cheese, chocolate with fudge, and vanilla with buttercream.

 

*apologies for picture quality, had to use Sister's phone!*

M-I-C-K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

Last Saturday was a day of two birthdays-- Holden's tiki hut cake (which he was very happy with, as was his mommy!  Love that!) and a cake for my little boy Jeremiah's 2nd birthday Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party!
Last week was such a busy week cake-wise, and Jeremiah's cake got shunted to the back of the line and didn't come out exactly how I had planned... but it was pretty darn cute all the same!  I was busy running around in my Minnie ears and did not get much of a chance to take good pictures... whoops! 
I love that little boy so very much, and there's just nothing like seeing your baby's eyes light up while getting ready to make a wish on a birthday candle or two.  I love you so much, little man!!

Sour cream pound cake base tier with buttercream filling and frosting, fondant accents.
Chocolate cake top tier with fudge filling and frosting, all fondant.
Mouse ears were foam covered in fondant and gumpaste.

Lots of Toys for Good Girls and Boys

I was extremely excited to be able to do my first "donation" cake on Friday.  My cousin Mitchell was helping run a Toys for Tots charity event, and he was in charge of food.  He asked me if I was too busy this week (understatement!), but I knew I wanted to help such a wonderful cause in any way I could.  My Granddaddy was a very proud Marine, so I have a soft spot for TFT as it is.  On top of that, having my own little one now, I know how even the tiniest things can bring so much joy to the lives of wee ones.  Donate a toy (or five!) today!!!

Red velvet cake, cream cheese filling, buttercream frosting, fondant accents.  All toys are edible!

Rock-a-hula Luau!

*come on, somebody out there has seen Grease 2 and knows the reference in the title!*

This has been SUCH a busy week here at Loulu's.  Yesterday, I delivered several dozen cupcakes for Mark Knott's pottery show, and today I will deliver two very special birthday cakes!

The first birthday cake is for Holden, who is turning one!  His mommy, Emily, asked me for a beachy tiki-hut cake for their beachy luau party (such a good idea on a frigid day like today... don't we all wish we could be in tropical climates today!).  This cake is laden with so much meaning, and I just love it.
The tiki hut on top is a reference to Holden's nursery bedding as well as Emily's baby clothes shop called Holden's Hut.  The guitars sprinkled around the cake are very special-- they are a tribute to Holden's uncle Michael who passed away several years ago. Holden's smash cake is designed after Michael's favorite Les Paul guitar.  A bit tricky to do in thick layers of buttercream, but all the better for Holden to enjoy and destroy!

I hope the Bell family enjoys this cake on such a special day.  Happy happy birthday, Holden!!!

Sour cream pound cake, buttercream frosting, fondant accents.  Hut is a foam dummy covered in fondant.

*design based off of one I saw on CakeMamas.*

Man Cake

Why is it that women seem to be the cake orderers in life?  Not that I mind-- women clients enable me to have cute, polka-dotted, flowery cakes that are whimsical and fun.
My dear friend Catherine (a woman, naturally) ordered a cake last week.  For her husband's 35th birthday.

I was momentarily stymied.

Justin is, quite simply, a "man's man" kind of guy.  He adores sports.  He eats big old steaks.  He's outdoorsy and loves to be at the lake. Not a man for whom flowers, polka dots, or cute would do!
Catherine asked for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and to somehow incorporate UGA and sports.
 After much hemming and hawing and readjusting of my design, I arrived at this conclusion:
For a Man Cake, less is more.  Make it taste good, and he'll be happy.  The rest is, pardon me but I have to, "icing on the cake." :-)

Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, fondant sports balls.

*the Georgia G is my first attempt at a frozen buttercream transfer.  Not perfect, but not a bad first effort!*

Death and Buttercream

They don't mix, do they?? Today I created this little Mini for a book club.  They were reading a book called The Book Thief, which I have not read, but my understanding of it is that it includes Nazis and stealing, and that it is narrated by Death.  In general, these are things I try to avoid in cake making!
Thankfully, my client Ashley is a low-key kind of lady and didn't mind one bit what was on the cake.  I took advantage and made a modified, scaled down, fondant-less version of a CakeGirls cake that I have wanted to recreate for so very long. Top it off with four necessary book club items (wine bottle, wine glass, reading glasses, and the book itself) and you're good to go! I hope they enjoy it!

Red velvet cake, cream cheese filling,  cream cheese buttercream frosting.

Tinker-berry

Today, I prepared 18 cupcakes for a sweet little girl named Emerson.  She is turning 3, and requested some pretty Tinkerbell cupcakes. Her Aunt Stephanie, who has been a friend of the family since, hmmm..... forever, mentioned strawberry cake.  Strawberry cake is not in my usual repertoire (I think I've had too many scary hot pink not-so-strawberry flavored cakes in the past), so I was excited to see if I could create something even I thought was yummy. It's a rough life, having to test recipes and eat the results!  This batter has almost 2 cups of fresh strawberry puree in it, and it made a world of difference.
I hope little Emerson and her friends enjoy them!  Happy Birthday!!!


Strawberry cupcakes, buttercream frosting, fondant accents.

I Love the 80s

Today I got to deliver a superfun cake for superfun gal named Maureen-- a former co-worker of my husband.  She's turning 25 and wanted to do so in style, so she sent me a request to make a *much* smaller version of something seen on Cake Boss.  Let me tell you, I am certainly no Buddy Valastro!
Still, this was a fun one-- the "spiked collar," the wire topper, even down to the cake itself!  The tiers are alternating layers  of red velvet and butter cake... I hope Maureen gets a picture once it's cut!
Probably my favorite part of this cake is not very visible in these pictures-- Maureen lost her mother to cervical cancer and asked me to turn the exclamation point of "80s Rocks!" into a remembrance ribbon.  Love that!

Have a totally radical party, Maureen! :-)

Micaela's Monogram

Busy cake weekend!  My final order for Saturday was a dozen monogrammed cupcakes for Micaela's 15th birthday.  She sent me a copy of her party invitation so we could match colors, and we decided on these.  She sent me the sweetest note yesterday telling me how happy she and her friends were with them.  Love that!!

Red velvet cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, fondant monograms.

La la la la, Elmo's World!

Today, I was excited to deliver a cake to a sweet little girl named Hope.  She was having an Elmo Extravaganza to celebrate being 2, and from what I saw, they were going to have a blast!  Her mommy, Sarah, had gone all out and had the most adorable decorations and details scattered throughout her house.
Sarah had provided me with the Elmo pan.  It's been a while since I did a cake like this, and I was instantly reminded that, despite appearances, these cakes are probably 10 times harder than the most complex fondant covered cake would ever be! Tricky to bake, tricky to smooth, tricky to get all those stars in the right place... but at the end of the day, little Hope and her family were all quite happy with it.
Happy Birthday!!

Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting

 They also ordered 12 chocolate and 12 vanilla cupcakes-- I added the tiny fondant "Elmos" just for fun!

Wild W.W.I.V.E.S

This evening I had the privilege of reuniting with an old teacher friend.  She had ordered a cake for her Bible study group, and had no other requests besides red velvet and the name of the group.  (She was recently married and has sworn off of decision making for a while.  Wedding planning will do that to you!)  I decided this would be perfect opportunity to create a "mini"-- a small oval cake that serves up to 12.  It's the perfect size for a small celebration, and I hope these ladies enjoy it during their time of fellowship!

Red velvet cake, cream cheese filling and frosting, fondant accents (zebra, purple, and green?  I think I'll call this the "Loulu's Signature!"  :-))

Something Borrowed, Something Blue (...and Brown!)

Today I delivered my first wedding cake.  While I have made cakes comparable in size for birthdays, I've never had the opportunity to make a cake for the biggest day in two people's lives. Thankfully, my bride, Caprece, was exceptionally easy to work with.  We chatted about colors and reception design, and we arrived at this conclusion.  I also custom made the topper for her. I hope that the cake will be the perfect addition to their celebration as they start their lives together!
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Scott!

Sour cream pound cake, fudge filling.  All buttercream and fudge frosting.

Faith, trust, and a little bit of pixiedust!!

You might have noticed in my galleries that Emma Jean and Rosie's names pop up on a lot of my children's birthday cakes... they are my two sweet nieces and I love them tremendously.  Today we celebrated Rosie's 4th birthday, and she had specifically requested a "pink Tinkerbell cake with a heart on it."  Her wish is my command!

Sour cream pound cake, raspberry filling, buttercream frosting.  Flowers, leaves, and heart are fondant, vines are gumpaste, purchased Tinkerbell candle.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!

Today I delivered an Atlanta Braves cake for Ryan's first birthday bash! Ryan's mommy and I go way, way, way back to the elementary school days, and I was thrilled to be able to help her family celebrate! This design was based off of one I found on CakeCentral...

Sour cream pound cake, cookies and cream filling, covered in all fondant with buttercream detail.

The Beginning

   I've always been fascinated with cake decorating. Even as a young child, I would design my own birthday cakes for my mother to execute-- usually a Wilton doll dress cake decorated in somewhat garish patterns of pink and purple.  My sweet mama would bake those cakes and decorate them exactly how I had asked her to, and those cakes meant the world to me.  I can still imagine her in our kitchen, squeezing approximately 600 icing stars over the skirt of those doll cakes (probably with a few choice words running through her head!), and shooing me out so the finished product would be a surprise. I adored those cakes-- a custom cake just for me? It doesn't get any better than that!
    Fast forward to my tenth birthday.  I was far too "grown" in my own mind for a doll cake, so when it came time for my birthday, Mom graciously offered to bake the cake for my party and let me decorate it myself.  Did she know how fascinated I was with the whole process and want to share her skills?  Or was she thrilled to not have to get a raging case of carpal tunnel from fighting with a star tip?  Perhaps a little of both!
I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to decorate that cake, and I can't begin to tell you what a disaster it was.  It was a plain old rectangular sheet cake, frosted in white, and I just went to town!  There were pink and green polka dots, gigantic letters (off center, of course!) marching across it, and what I envisioned to be a "rose garden" in one corner.  There is no photographic evidence of this cake, thank heavens, but the memory of it is forever burned into my brain. I LOVED IT!  Looking back, I somewhat pity my party guests for having to partake in such a thing.  *shudder*
    Over the next few years, I started pestering Mom to teach me how to bake.  She let me start with cake mixes, which I could bake and lightly decorate for our dessert some evenings.  It became known at our house as "Abby Cake."  From there, as I got older, she and I would traditionally bake the cake on the cover of December's Southern Living magazine every year.  I have particularly hilarious memories of the cake that required Fruit by the Foot fruit snacks to make a festive bow topper.  It was a disaster, but we laughed ourselves silly about it.
    We stayed up until 2 am once, creating a 50th anniversary cake for her aunt and uncle who were not able to have a cake at their wedding.  We decided to go all out-- three tiers, separated with columns, icing roses, gold leaves, an ornate topper, the whole shebang.  To say that we bit off more than we could chew would be an understatement, but we were so proud of ourselves when it was finally finished. Fifteen minutes into the party, it got knocked over.  Whoops!
    After I graduated college and moved out on my own, a friend of mine asked out of nowhere if I wanted to accompany her to cake decorating classes.  I immediately said yes, and attended classes for two years.  I was thrilled to be able to combine all the new techniques with the old lessons I had learned from baking with Mom.  During the summer of 2006, my aunt asked me to make a "fun and funky" Sweet Sixteen cake for my cousin.  It was my first "official" cake, and it came out like this...

It was not anywhere NEAR what I had imagined it to be, but it was the beginning.  I've learned so much since then, but what has never changed is my love for decorating cakes.  It is my hope, now, that I can give to others the feeling I had when my mom created those cakes for me so long ago...

"A custom cake just for me? It doesn't get any better than that!"