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| This is either a Milky Way Cake OR a Guinness Bailey's Cake. |
Just recently I had an unusual request to create a red velvet cake complete with a disheveled Courtney Love and baby doll limbs for an awesome dude- Jake of Humphrey Slocombe. But after a friend helped decipher the concept, and listening to Doll Parts, this cake makes perfect sense, kind of.
Oh man! Where the heck have I been? MIA for sure, and I must apologize for that. A pastry chef turned sugar orchestrator has only so much energy to write (am I right, Abby?)
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| Pain au Chocolat a la Daniel! |
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| Summer in SoHo |
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| Magenta Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting Guiness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Buttercream |
Where to start on this one? This was the cake(s) of the year! Jason and Lindsey had a non-traditional (and may I say awesome) approach to what they wanted for their wedding cake. As soon as they found my site and saw Franks Donut Cake, they emailed me. They both were set on having 6 separate donut cakes as their wedding cake. We collaborated for a few months on designs and flavors and this is what resulted.
This WALL-E caramel iced donut consists of Caramel Swirled Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream.
A shot of all six cakes- at left center is the jelly donut consisting of Vanilla Bean Cake with Raspberry Preserves and Organic Raspberries. To the right is the EVA chocolate iced donut consisting of Chocolate Fudge Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream and Organic Raspberries.
This donut consists of Toasted Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd.
The Imagine Bus Project's goal is to bring visual arts education to K-12 inner-city students, most of which are low-income, where arts education is lacking. They offer high quality, culturally sensitive art classes (such as digital photography basics, printmaking and arts and crafts) which in some cases are held on their mobile art studio, the Imagine Bus.
October has been the busiest month yet this year. Lots of events/galas and cakes! From a gluten-free dacquoise cake for Jaye to Mark and Michael's wedding cake.
Mark, Michael and I worked together to create an elegant and masculine non-traditional wedding cake for their intimate ceremony. What resulted was an ivory and chocolate brown cake with mahogany accents.
Although all cakes made are completely custom, this design is a first for me. The bottom tier consisted of two cakes, same size but different flavors, stacked directly on top of each other to create a taller-than-usual tier. The bottom half consisted of Chocolate Fudge Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream and the top half, Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla Buttercream. The groomsmen's' top tier consisted of Dark Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream since they both are chocolate fiends (or chocolate-mongers). =)
Congrats Mark and Mike!
-M&M's Wedding Cake created October.18th.2008
Designing a wedding cake is usually a months long process in which the cake designer collaborates with the groom-and-bride-to-be to create a unique cake that best expresses the theme and feel of the wedding with the given budget. But sometimes that process happens over a few days. This cake from conception to birth took only 2 weeks, if that.
Need i say more? 12" Corndog consists of Vanilla Bean Pound Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream. Sweeeeet! Happy 25th Chris!
-Chris D's Birthday Cake created August.29th.2008
I'm not sure how much info I'm allowed to reveal about the recipients of this Bon Voyage cake but it was for two fabulous chefs- an executive and pastry chef couple, A and A.
I was given almost complete freedom on design but was asked to create some sort of airplane or San Francisco landmark. I decided to go with the airplane idea and give it a playful feel with two passengers' heads popping out the top of the cockpit. The cake consisted of Caramel Swirled Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream.
-A and A's Bon Voyage Cake was created March.30th.2007
Since Carl was organizing a birthday party for his wife, Susannah, at Home Restaurant, Carl commissioned me to create a cake inspired by her artwork. He requested a Vanilla Bean Cake with Vanilla buttercream as the smaller top tier and a Dark Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache as the larger bottom tier but left the design of the cake up to me.
After looking through Susannah's online gallery, i was inspired by her use of soft pastel colors and seemingly innocent characters contrasted by overtly erotic images.
Though the image I chose to recreate was more on the subtle side, it was one of my favorites! The expression captured by Susannah is right on. To check out her artwork, visit SusannahBettag.com.
-Susannah's Birthday Cake was created February.7.2008
After searching far and wide for a giant donut for her boyfriend's birthday with no success, Megan decided to commission her awesome friend (me) to make her an extra-large-donut cake. Megan knew right away that she wanted a key lime flavored element, raspberries and some sort of pound cake so i suggested a Classic Vanilla Pound Cake with Key Lime Curd and Raspberry Jam.
The result was a cake that looked so close to the real thing, that i was left not craving a cake, but a huge chocolate donut!
-Frank's Birthday Cake was created December.29.2007
I had to post this picture- Im no professional photographer but i love to take a pretty picture and i think this is one.
This cake was VERY last minute (thanks Dad) but done with lots of love! The design was up to me so I decided to go with a concept I've had in mind for quite a while- here's its first manifestation. Im sure it'll make another appearance in the near future.
-Chocolate Fudge Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache was created November.16.2007
Spending a weekend with the Collins was the much deserved mini-vacation i had been wishing for. And since Bobby's birthday had just passed the weekend before, Lauren and I (the dynamic duo!) scrambled to create a cake. Bobby is quite the athlete so L thought it would be an awesome idea to create a football helmet cake with B's favorite football team, the SF 49ers.
L and i had the most FUN making this cake! The process was as enjoyable as seeing the finished piece.
Where to start? Miriam is a long time friend, so for her birthday, i wanted to surprize her with a unique and special gift- Whats more special than a Dolce & Gabbana handbag made of cake and sugar?!
Although her cake was presented to her about a week after her celebration, it was received with loud claps and vigorous hopping.
The cake you ask? Moist Chocolate Fudge and nutty Toasted Almond Cake with red Raspberry Preserves. Yummo! (just kidding). Happy Birthday Miriam!
-Miriam's 19th Birthday Cake was created September.03.2007
I had the most fun making this cake. My sister-in-law, Gaby, had an awesome concept in mind when we decided on the design of her twin baby shower cake. Gaby wanted a Vanilla Bean Chiffon Cake with Blueberry-Strawberry Compote complete with daisy-accented hills, a jello pond and 4 rubber duckies.
The largest duck symbolized the mother with the 3 baby ducks swimming behind her, the last 2 being the new additions to the family. They are all swimming on a pond of gelatin complete with ripples and little waves.
This cake is the heaviest to date!
-Duckies and Daisies cake was created July.28.2007
After seeing this blog, Lea, my mother-in-law's co-worker, decided to alleviate her stress and have me make her a wedding cake. Right from the start she knew exactly the kind of cake she wanted for her niece's wedding. She requested a 2-tier New York Style Cheesecake- the bottom tier being Espresso Cheesecake with an oreo cookie crust and the top tier Lemon Cream Cheesecake with an almond cookie crust. Later that week she decided to add a middle tier and have it be a Classic Vanilla Bean Cake with Chocolate Cream filling.
She sent me about a 1-inch swatch of her shade of beige and asked that i used that in the design of the cake but left the rest of the details up to me.
Pulled an all nighter with this one!
-Cheesecake Wedding Cake July.7.2007
Audeli has been a friend for about 5 years now and is a big fan of the color green. As soon as she set a date for her birthday celebration at a beautiful park in the peninsula, she contacted me about a cake. Audeli's was interested in a light and fruity cake for her summer/spring-themed barbeque. I suggested a Classic Vanilla Bean Cake with Mango Bavarian Cream and a Sour Cherry compote. With no hesitation she concurred and sent me off to create the cake.
When designing the cake, i kept in mind her fresh, spring/summer-theme and created sugar Tulip buds & frilly Roses.
The cake was a hit with the guests and Audeli said it was "Muy delicioso!"
-Audely's Birthday Cake was created June.23.2007
This cake was one many months in the making. After being inspired by a beautiful wedding cake seen in a "Food Network Wedding Cake Challenge" a few months back, an idea for an indian-style cake was conceived. And since my Mother's church friends were throwing her a party, I, your neighborhood friendly pastry chef, was commissioned to create a cake. My mother, Irma, loves nutty flavors and asked me to make an intense flavored almond cake. After some experimenting, i created a Toasted Almond Torte. I wont reveal my mothers age but if its any indication, i was asked to use gold in the decor of the cake.
The Almond Torte was light, moist and very nutty, just as my mother requested. Happy Birthday mom!
-Mom's Birthday Cake was created June.3.2007
