Deb's Custom Cakes

Hollywood Cake

2011-12-04T07:48:00.000-05:00

Pirate Ship Cake

2011-11-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

Pirate Ship Covered in Chocolate Buttercream, Fondant Accents

Two 9x13 Chocolate Cakes, Stacked and Carved

Baby Blocks Shower Cake

2011-09-24T11:33:00.000-04:00

Blocks are rice cereal treats covered in fondant.

All decorations are fondant.

12" Round Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Jets Football Helmet Cake

2011-09-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

Two 8" Round, One Medium Pyrex Bowl (didn't end up using the 6" round)

Stack and Fill

Carve a flat front, and round out the other edges.

Crumb Coat

Cover and decorate with fondant.
Face mask is wire covered in fondant (do not stick wire into cake, just place in front!)
TOUCHDOWN!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday

2011-08-27T16:28:00.001-04:00

Two 10" Round and Two 9" Round

Template of clubhouse found online...printed and traced onto Gumpaste.
Cut stars out of Gumpaste and attached to lollipop sticks for the cake topper.

Chocolate cake with chocolate filling, covered in fondant.
Fondant and Gumpaste accents. All edible.

Barbie Dress Cake

2011-08-21T20:54:00.004-04:00

My birthday girl looks so happy. Love you E!

Football Field Cake

2011-03-27T00:29:00.000-04:00

Game on! Vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream filling. The cake is decorated with vanilla buttercream and fondant. I hand carved the team logos (free hand) from fondant using an X-Acto knife.

Gift Box Cake

2011-03-12T19:01:00.001-05:00

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, covered and decorated with fondant.
The perfect gift!

Hello Kitty Face Cake

2011-02-26T21:43:00.001-05:00

Lovingly hand-carved from a 12" round chocolate cake for my niece. Covered in fondant with gumpaste accents.

Moon Cake

2011-02-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

Out of this world!! Read all about it on Cake Central: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1947007/ (which is just about the best site for everything cake decorating related!) Happy Birthday to my oldest son. I can't believe how much you've grown in just 7 years. I love you!

Cake Pops

2011-02-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

Cake Pops! Bits of cake mixed with buttercream attached to a lollipop stick, then dipped in melted chocolate and decorated. My first attempt and they were delicious!!

Dora Storybook Cake

2011-01-23T15:01:00.001-05:00

This vanilla cake was carved into an open book shape and decorated with mostly buttercream and a few fondant accents. The idea for this cake was inspired by the birthday girl's love of Dora books!

Rubber Duck 1st Birthday Cake

2011-01-16T16:02:00.001-05:00

This big cake is for a one year old who turned 1 on 1-11-11! The theme of the party was Construction Duckies so we let this cute guy take off his gear for a quick float. This duck is made from cereal treats and covered in fondant. All of the cake decorations (including the barrel, duck, gear and bubbles) are made from fondant.

New Baby Boy Cake

2011-01-11T09:56:00.001-05:00

This cake was made for a new baby boy's Bris. The vanilla cake is covered and decorated with fondant. The baby blocks are cereal treats covered in fondant. The plaque listed all of the birth information (but was photoshopped out for privacy).

Darth Vader Cake

2011-01-01T10:43:00.000-05:00

For my son's 4th birthday! He's a huge Darth Vader and Star Wars fan. Darth is made from cereal treats and gumpaste and is supported with a wooden dowel and fat plastic drinking straw. Outside of the supports, Darth Vader is completely edible (and I regret not taking pictures of the kids tearing into this guy at the party!).

Bulldozer Cake

2010-12-10T19:04:00.001-05:00

Caution! Everything you see is delicious!

The bulldozer is pound cake, cereal treats and fondant. The cake is chocolate with chocolate filling. Yum!!

Rapunzel Cake

2010-11-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

Made for a special 5 year old...a two tier chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling.

Completely decorated with fondant - all edible...all delicious!

Construction Site Cake

2010-11-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

This colorful cake was made for a 3 year old's construction party. It's a two tier vanilla cake with strawberry and vanilla buttercream filling. Everything on this cake is edible, including the custom made Digger, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck and Bulldozer.

The safety cone cake topper is made from gumpaste and is completely edible. It stands 6" tall!

The vehicles are made from cereal treats and are covered and decorated in fondant.

The "dirt" is made from brown sugar and cookie crumbles, and the "rocks", "bricks" and "lumber" are made from fondant.

Brachiosaurus Cake

2010-11-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

A real technical challenge, but quite fun! This standing Brachiosaurus cake was made for a 4 year old boy's dinosaur party. He requested a realistic, blue, 3D brachiosaurus made from chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream icing. You can read about how this guy was built here.

The Evolution of a Dinosaur Cake!

2010-11-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

In taking on a 3D dinosaur cake (or any "standing" animal cake) there is a lot that goes into the cake design, before the cake is even baked! I read information online on how to create leg and neck support using PVC pipes and other items you can find at Home Depot. I didn't want to go that route...I wanted instead to achieve the look of a standing dinosaur in a more creative (and less constructive) way.

First, I started off with a wire hanger, saran wrap, duct tape and 2 pieces of foam board. I shaped the wire hanger into the "neck" of the dinosaur and then taped the base down onto the first piece of foam board. I took the second piece of foam board and cut it in half and glued each half on top of the wire hanger base to make one thick board, with a wire neck coming from the bottom.

(I wish I had a picture of that, but neglected to take one at this stage...)

Next, I tightly wrapped the wire hanger in saran wrap so that no part of the hanger would come in contact with the cake. I covered the foam board in green fondant.

Then I put my cakes (1 10"round on bottom, 2 9" round on top, already filled) right up against the hanger on the board and started carving to shape the dinosaur's back and legs. I used cereal treats to cover the wrapped hanger, making a long neck and head. Next I crumb coated it all in vanilla buttercream.

I used more cereal treats to create a tail and to give more depth to the legs. The birthday boy requested a buttercream iced cake (no fondant) but agreed for fondant facial features. I figured the best way to achieve a clean, realistic face was to use fondant for the skin, eyes and teeth. I shaped and added fondant pieces until I achieved this look...

Then I covered the dinosaur in different shades of blue buttercream and added a piece of black fondant under the belly to give a better appearance to the legs.

I kept playing with the icing and shading until I got the look I wanted. Next I added fondant rocks and bushes and trees to give the illusion that my dinosaur was standing on four legs. You can see my finished Brachiosaurus cake here.

Curious George Cake

2010-11-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

This fun cake was made for a 2 year old boy's birthday. The Curious George and Yellow Hat are made from cereal treats and are covered and decorated in fondant. George is about 5-6" tall! The bottom tier is 9" round and the top tier is 8" round chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling and both are covered and decorated in fondant.

Bouquet of Flowers

2010-11-06T08:14:00.000-04:00

I've seen this done before and have wanted to try it for a while. I think it's such a great idea for a pretty cake! 6" round chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The "stems" are fondant and the flowers are gumpaste.

Teddy Bear Pumpkin Cake

2010-10-31T14:26:00.000-04:00

Made for a special girl's Halloween Birthday Party at Build-A-Bear! I made the teddy bear out of pound cake and it sits on top of a 3 layer 12"round vanilla cake with vanilla pudding filling. The cake is covered in fondant with fondant accents. The pumpkin is made of fondant. Everything on this cake is edible!

How to Make a Teddy Bear Cake

2010-10-31T14:03:00.001-04:00

No special cake pans required! Start with 2 loaves of pound cake and carve the head and body from one, arms and legs from the other. Make sure you have a cardboard support under the body.

Next, cover in buttercream...

Now start with clothing...this part may be easier without arms at first.

I attached the pound cake arms and rested them on the legs for support. Then I put the sleeves on and secured to the shirt. This seemed to hold the arms on securely without adding any additional supports. I added fur and details, and here she is cooling in the fridge...

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

This vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream cake was made and decorated for a Birthday/Halloween party. The birthday girl was adding her own princess figurines to the cake (where the pink icing circles are) to complete the look.

This first picture is of the iced sheet cake (12x18) with my sketch book in the background. I used a toothpick to freehand the design.

And here is the completed cake!

Owl Cake

2010-10-23T10:44:00.002-04:00

This cake (chocolate with vanilla buttercream) was made for a boy's first birthday...the party was woodland themed, with a guided nature center tour and animals, including a live owl! The cake topper is an owl, 100% edible, carved from cereal treats and covered in gumpaste, designed to match the party invitation and decor. The main cake is covered in fondant with fondant and gumpaste accents. This picture below includes the "smash cake", covered in buttercream icing with fondant leaves, to complement the main cake and perfect for the birthday boy to dig into and enjoy!

Here is a close-up of the owl, along with the invitation in the background. The coffee mug is there for scale.

Glamour Cake

2010-10-16T12:09:00.001-04:00

This cake was made for a Glamour Party! Everything, excluding the feather boa, is edible! Chocolate cake with chocolate filling, covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant with fondant and gumpaste accents.

Princess Tiara Cake

2010-10-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

The tiara is made out of gumpaste and candy "pearls". The cake is covered in fondant with fondant, gumpaste and "pearl" decorations.

Navy and Orange Bridal Shower Cake

2010-10-10T14:02:00.000-04:00

This was done on an ice cream cake, so periods of a little decorating and then lots of waiting because I had to keep the cake in freezer most of the time. The bride-to-be wanted the wedding colors of navy and orange incorporated in the cake. The bride and veil are fondant, all other decorations are buttercream.

Dora's Map

2010-05-31T20:48:00.000-04:00

House, Bridge, Island! Say it with me...

"The Map" is gumpaste, the cake is buttercream with fondant accents. Such a sweet idea for a cake!

Phillies Baseball Stadium Cake (with Phanatic!)

2010-05-31T20:18:00.000-04:00

This is a cake of the Phillies baseball stadium, with some special guests. The kids who were celebrating their birthdays were of course, huge Phillies fans, but also fans of Club Penguin, the Littlest Pet Shop and their dogs. So the challenge was to incorporate all of that on one cake! The field is buttercream and brown sugar (sand). The seating is fondant with non pariels (fans) on a base of molded Rice Krispies Treats (RKT). The scoreboard is mostly gumpaste with hand drawings done with food safe markers. Phanatic (the Phillies mascot) is a base of molded RKT covered in gumpaste and royal icing (fur). I included a real pic of the Phanatic for those that are not familiar with this guy. The dogs and penguins are gumpaste. Quite a challenging cake, but a lot of fun to make!

Baby Shower Cake

2010-05-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

This cake was made for two friends who already have seven children between them! They are both having girls, and we just had a low-key celebration for them. I decided on this design because it wasn't a typical baby shower...we were celebrating the moms more than the babies. =) Buttercream frosted with fondant accents. The swirls on the top are piped buttercream.

Flower Cakes

2010-05-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

I've got tons of cakes to update here, but a few of them were similar in theme so I'll toss them all in one post to save time. I did two birthday cakes and my final Wilton cake...all with flowers!

This one is buttercream frosted with fondant flowers. This is my very first attempt at quilting, and I think it added a nice touch...

This next cake is my final cake from Wilton Gumpaste and Fondant...the cake is covered in fondant and the daisies are gumpaste.

And finally a cake for my mother-in-law who loves flowers...cake is covered and decorated entirely in buttercream. Enjoy!

Fire Truck Cake

2010-03-25T16:28:00.001-04:00

2D Fire Truck Cake! I carved the truck from a 12x18 one layer cake...iced in buttercream and decorated with fondant accents.

My First Wilton Class =)

2010-03-25T16:07:00.001-04:00

A year and a half after I started decorating cakes I thought it may be a good idea to take an actual class! I learned a lot of tips and tricks from Wilton course 1 and am already signed up for the next series. This is a picture of my final cake from course 1. Decorations are all buttercream.

Pink Birthday Cake

2010-03-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

This was made for my niece's 5th birthday. She had a Barbie party, so I made her a tiered pink cake (covered in buttercream) with some green and purple accents. I got her a real Barbie and tied wooden dowels to her feet to use as a cake topper.

Pink Pirate Cake

2010-03-16T10:39:00.002-04:00

Decorated this cake during a blackout! Pink buttercream with fondant and gumpaste accents. Poor picture quality because my camera died and there was no way to recharge during the power outage, so I had to use my camera phone.

St. Patricks' Day Cake

2010-03-13T08:07:00.000-05:00

This was a two-occasion cake for St. Patrick's Day and a 50th birthday celebration. Found a neat way to represent both occasions on the cake! Covered in vanilla buttercream with fondant and gumpaste accents.

Dump Truck Cake

2010-02-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

I feel like every time I complete a cake it becomes my new favorite. The same is true of my latest...this is a dump truck cake. The birthday boy specifically requested that it must be dumping at the top of the cake as well! The truck is made of out rice krispies treats, fondant and gumpaste. The cake is a yellow butter cake frosted in chocolate buttercream. The "sand" is brown sugar and the M&Ms were the special delivery.

Here is a close up of the dump truck...

LEGO Cake

2010-02-13T16:06:00.002-05:00

For my 6 year old's birthday! LEGO cake is covered in fondant. The LEGO guy (made to be a redhead like the birthday boy) is made from rice krispies treats, fondant and gumpaste. The light saber is a wooden dowel covered in fondant and brushed with green luster dust.

To show the size of this cake, here's a picture of him blowing out the candles...

And a close up of the LEGO Star Wars guy...

Steam Roller Cake

2010-01-30T07:42:00.000-05:00

The birthday boy asked specifically for a steam roller cake and I used his toy for a model. Half the cake is finished road, and the other half is under construction with the steam roller busy working in the middle. The steam roller is made from rice krispies treats, buttercream, fondant and gumpaste and is completely edible. The cake is decorated with mostly buttercream icing, with fondant used only for the road, rocks, safety cones and the happy birthday sign. The "dirt" is ground up chocolate cookies and brown sugar. The entire cake is edible!

Spider-Man Cake

2009-12-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

For my baby's third birthday. =)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T17:48:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! This is a chocolate cake with peppermint buttercream filling. I thought it would be cute to have Santa getting stuck in the chimney on the way down. All decorations are made from fondant and are 100% edible.

Mermaid Cake

2009-11-28T12:57:00.001-05:00

This is a two tiered chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling, covered in buttercream and fondant. With the exception of the mermaid candle topper, all pieces are completely edible and made from a fondant/gumpaste mix.

Diego Jeep

2009-11-22T09:25:00.001-05:00

Chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling. The bottom tier is covered with buttercream and fondant and the top tier is covered with buttercream and cookie crumbs.

The jeep is 100% edible, made with rice krispies treats, buttercream, fondant and gumpaste. The flags, grass and rocks are a gumpaste and fondant mix. The Diego logo and headlights are gumpaste and I colored them with food safe markers.

Diego and Baby Jaguar are plastic figurines, but everything else on the cake is edible. A close up of the jeep is below.

Pizza Cake

2009-11-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

This was a lot of fun to make! And surprisingly simple. The cake was made much larger than needed, but only because it's much more life-like at 12" round.

Chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling, covered in buttercream and fondant. Rice krispies treats covered with fondant make up the "crust." The "sauce" is strawberry preserves mixed with buttercream and a bit of red and brown coloring gel. Everything else on the pizza...ahem, cake...is made from fondant.

The Cat is Back

2009-11-06T16:18:00.000-05:00

Hello Kitty, done a bit differently. My camera battery literally died after I took this first shot, and I have better angles/pics on my phone that I will upload later.

The tiers are yellow cake with chocolate pudding filling covered in buttercream and fondant.

The Hello Kitty face is carved from rice krispies treats, covered in fondant and decorated with gumpaste accents. Everything on this cake is edible.

Family Tree 80th Birthday Cake

2009-10-24T16:23:00.000-04:00

This cake was for an 80th birthday celebration - for a man whose many passions were narrowed down to "family" and "Villanova baseball."

Each tier is chocolate cake with strawberry filling. The top tier celebrates Villanova baseball, while the second and bottom tiers celebrate his large family with a family tree. The birthday boy and his wife's name are "carved" in the tree trunk, their children and spouse's names are on the bottom tier and his grandchildren are all named on the middle tier.

All decorations (leaves, baseball bats, baseballs, etc) are edible and are made of fondant or a fondant/gumpaste mix.

Hello Again!

2009-10-17T13:02:00.000-04:00

This is one popular cat these days. :)
Hello Kitty face, carved from 3 x 10" rounds (2 chocolate, 1 yellow) with chocolate filling. Buttercream icing makes up the face and sides and I used a gumpaste/fondant mix for the bows, whiskers, eyes and nose. The cake board is wrapped with HK wrapping paper.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

2009-10-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

Top tier is 2 x 6"round chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling. Bottom tier is 3 x 10" round chocolate cake with strawberry and fudge fillings. Under the fondant is a vanilla buttercream. The stars are fondant with fondant letters on lollipop sticks. The clubhouse is fondant with buttercream accents. All is edible, except the Mickey Mouse figurines and the lollipop sticks.

For those over the age of 4 who are not familiar with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, you can see it in the background of this picture:

Princess Castle Cake

2009-09-12T17:44:00.000-04:00

Wow. So, I've finished the castle cake, and if you read my previous post, you know that only a few days ago I had just finished the towers. I've been working pretty hard these last two days. The center is a 3 layer 10" round chocolate cake with buttercream and fresh strawberry filling, covered in buttercream. The top is a 2 layer 6" round strawberry cake with chocolate fudge filling, also covered in buttercream.

The facade of the castle is a fondant cobblestone with fondant windows and door. The tops of the towers are upsidedown sugar cones, coated in buttercream and rolled in colored sugar. The vines and flowers are all colored buttercream. The front walk is fondant, as are the tops of the castle towers (parapets?).

The non-edible parts of this cake are the princesses, the Dora figure, Tinkerbell and the flag/ribbon at the top.

Edited to add: By far the largest cake I've made to date...16 eggs, 4 sticks of butter, 32 cups of confectioner's sugar, the list goes on and on...

Building the Castle Cake

2009-09-11T12:28:00.001-04:00

My next cake endeavor is a princess castle cake, and since this is my first time doing it, I had to experiment a bit with the castle towers. First, I had to figure out the smartest way to make them. Next, I needed to test their durability so they wouldn't fall apart on me before the cake was even finished. Then I had to make sure they looked great! After researching a bit on youtube.com and cakecentral.com I decided to go with rice krispies treats (RKT) over wooden dowels, covered in buttercream and then a layer of fondant. I picked up a silicon cobblestone mat to use on the fondant. Here's how the first one turned out (keep mind I plan to top them with sugar cones coated in buttercream and colored sugar so they are not 100% done yet).

After two days of it staying put and confident that this method would work, I made the other three:

Hello Kitty (part 2)

2009-09-08T08:30:00.001-04:00

This cake is carved from a 2 layer 8" round (one layer chocolate, the second layer yellow cake) with chocolate fudge filling. It is decorated with buttercream and colored sugar (pink for the bow). And I used black licorice for the whiskers.

Race Track Cake

2009-09-07T13:35:00.000-04:00

This is a race track/Lightening McQueen cake, 2 layer 9X13" yellow cake, chocolate fudge filling and buttercream icing. The "3" track is first iced with chocolate buttercream and then coated with sugar that I colored with black gel. The sugar coating resembles asphalt better than icing alone. Lightening McQueen, trophy, cones, tires and flags are non-edible.

Hello Kitty

2009-09-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

This cake is a 2 layer 9X13" yellow cake with chocolate fudge filling and buttercream icing.

Deb's Custom Cakes

2009-09-07T13:08:00.000-04:00

I'm a self taught amateur cake decorator having fun with creating edible art and helping people celebrate birthdays and other celebrations. I hope you enjoy the site and pictures and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Thanks!