That's One Angry Whale

Sometimes you get a call or email from a client requesting a cake and it's a fairly standard order. You know exactly how to create the design and exactly how it will turn out. This was not one of those times.

I received an email from a customer asking if I could make a cake based on a social media site error message. Stay with me, it gets better. More specifically, the cake was to be a 3D model of the Twitter "Fail Whale". Even more specifically, the customer asked that I create a cake based on a video parody of Twitter itself in which the Fail Whale becomes "The Angry Fail Whale".



The cake was to be taken into his office to feed approximately 20 people.

These are the kind of cake challenges that make life worth living.

Daydreaming, diagramming, debating, and drafting began and soon "The Angry Fail Whale" began to take shape. The process of this creation is shown here.

Having Your Cake and...

One of my favorite aspects of creating cakes is the joy of witnessing my client's reaction when they first see their cake. I especially love watching people tasting the cake, but it's not something I get to enjoy often. Generally cakes are picked up or delivered and I am far away by the time the cake is being cut and served.

This week I had the pleasure of creating a wedding cake for a client who is also a friend. My husband and I were invited to the wedding to celebrate the marriage of the lovely couple. I got to experience the bride and groom seeing the cake for the first time, cutting the cake, and then tasting it together. It was a wonderful feeling to see my art and hard work as a special part of a wedding celebration and being enjoyed by so many.

It can be nerve wracking at times to sit and watch someone tasting your edible art. After all, long hours of work and care go into each design. However, it is nice to be reminded, surrounded by smiles and sounds of "Mmmm!", that the confection is most importantly something to be eaten and enjoyed. I love that cake is created in order to be savored and remembered only through photographs and memories.

This cake design was based on the wedding invitation and the bride's bouquet. It also featured a hand-made sugar claddagh ring inspired by the bride's Irish heritage. The paisley design contained hidden symbols chosen for the couple's love, heritage, and initials.

The flavours selected were chocolate bourbon cake with vanilla buttercream, sugar white cake with blueberries and blueberry buttercream, and sugar white cake with lemon buttercream.

Photography by Jessica Thier

Birthday Cake Fit For Royalty

As a cake artist, I have an endless list of techniques I'd like to try, cakes I'd love to attempt, and things I'm just dying to make. A cake featuring a sugar tiara and stack of pillows has been on the list for quite a while. I'm not sure why, perhaps it's an unfulfilled girlhood princess fantasy, but I was just dying to make one. So I was ecstatic when a customer requested just such a cake for a birthday barbecue for a woman who wanted to "just feel like a princess for the day".

I hope that I fulfilled her wish, while fulfilling my desire to make a girly and gorgeous cake!


Photography by Jessica Thier

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Cake or Death - The Blog!

I'm excited to be able to give you a glimpse behind the curtain into the process of making Cake or Death cakes, tell you the story behind some of the cakes, and discuss techniques, tips & tricks.

In the blog layout, you're also seeing a sneak preview of the new Cake or Death aesthetic! The same look will be launched soon on the main site: CakeorDeath.ca

Thank you for checking it all out and I look forward to hearing from you!

Kristin