It Doesn't Work, Until it Does

Some cakes just speak to me. They whisper their secrets to me late at night. They reveal themselves as I begin to sculpt. And then, there are others. I love the designs, but they just refuse to make a peep. This particular cake was one of the latter variety. A lovely cake design for a very sweet couple, I was looking forward to the hand-molded flowers complete with crystals.

Amazingly though, halfway through creating the cake it just started to materialize. It just started to work. By the time I was done and stepped back to look I was so very happy with how the finished cake looked. Sometimes it just doesn't work, until it does.

Thomas and Friends

I love making birthday cakes for little ones. Being a mother of two, I can easily imagine the excited looks that a very special cake will create on their faces. I take care to be sure that every detail of their favorite character is present. I just can't wait to hear about how they enjoyed the special treat made just for them. It's just one small part of what I love so much about what I do.

This special cake was made for Josh, who is celebrating his 5th birthday. His favorite characters? Thomas the Tank Engine and his train cars, Annie and Clarabel.

Meet Your Sexy Side

There are so many changes and milestones in a woman's life. Times when she feels on top of the world and times when she feels the need to reinvent herself, or find herself anew. Marriage, motherhood, job changes, all of these are met with highs, lows, and plenty of self-doubt. During such times it is wonderful to find outlets for creativity, groups of community, and methods of reinvention. Aradia Fitness provides just such an opportunity.

With a tagline like, "Meet Your Sexy Side", you know that you're up for some fabulous fun and this past Friday night the Oakville branch opened it's doors for a Spa Night to welcome the community and enjoy some good fun, dancing, and (of course) cake!

The cake was made to celebrate the freedom found by these women. Some of the design details were taken from the flier created for the event.




This delicious cake had one tier of carrot cake and buttercream and one tier of bourbon chocolate cake and raspberry buttercream.

I Eat Losers for Breakfast

I have a three year old son who has many heroes. One of them is Lightning McQueen from the movie, "Cars".



He runs around the house at top speed "racing like lightning". He sits down and asks for losers to eat for breakfast. He tells me that I'm Sally (Lightning's girlfriend) and that we're going to go for a drive together. And the list of McQueen-isms goes on and on. So when I was asked to make a large Lightning McQueen in cake, I knew I was up for the challenge.

I had so much fun sculpting the contours of the car, airbrushing and hand-painting all the decals, and putting the finishing touches on the tires. My son stood by and made sure that I had everything just so. It's nice having an expert on hand.





The cake was made to feed about 45 people in the child-friendly flavour of chocolate. Happy fourth birthday, Ben!

Fruit with a Face? Totally!

The most fun I've had working on a cake in the past couple weeks has to be this fun foray with fruit.

Made for a grandfather's 88th birthday, the pineapple man is based on a family joke. How fun is that?!



This delicious slice of heaven was a wonderful combination of carrot spice cake and cream cheese frosting. Decorations were hand-molded using fondant and gumpaste.

What I Like About You

I love the idea of a birthday being used as an opportunity to highlight the interests and strengths of an individual. It's a time to take stock, to look to the future, and to celebrate. That's just what was done with this cake, created for a happy 24th birthday for Cara, from her boyfriend.



The cake was created with six sides to showcase things that are important to Cara.



A running shoe and a runners' bib from a Toronto race.



A Blackberry and fruity martini.



A beautiful blue dress and heart pendant necklace.

The flavours chosen for this special occasion were chocolate bourbon cake with raspberry buttercream.

Happy Birthday, Cara!

What Does a Wedding Cake Look Like?

I worked on a simply-designed wedding cake this past weekend. I got so many comments about how it didn't "look like a wedding cake". I began to really think about that, as I pride myself on blowing away convention and trying to push the boundaries (even in little ways).



A wedding cake is a representation of the first food - nutrition and sustenance - that a couple shares together as a married couple. Other than that, and the need to feed all of the guests, there are no rules. There is really no right and no wrong when it comes to that most important confection.

I think what is most important is that your wedding cake reflects who you are, who you hope to become together, and the things in life that you love. If that is polka dots, bows, the family dog and a wrapper from your favorite burger joint, then go for it! For many, this will be your only chance to specifically design an amazing cake that will play such a vital role in an event. Why not have fun?



From the perspective of the cake artist, I would much prefer to put my heart and soul into a design that is unique and challenging, than to construct a cake that was chosen based solely on a passing bridal trend. The cake designer is there to work with you to build on your likes, dislikes, and vision. Let them help to create the design for your dream cake.

So, throw convention to the wind and let loose with your inner-cake artist! On your big day you will be so happy to share that first bite of sweetness with your love - a sweetness that has been uniquely created for you.

Making it Match

There are so many things I love about being a cake artist: The way the buttercream slides under the palette knife, the look of chocolate cake batter as it is poured into the pan, that moment when the cake creation is complete. One aspect that I take a great deal of pride in is matching seemingly insignificant details. Yes, I'm a geek. But I feel that you might not notice that they're there, but the cake just wouldn't look right without them. Whether it's the tiny Porsche hood ornament or the Canadian seal on an edible passport, I just love details.

This particular cake gave me a fun opportunity to match details perfectly - a cake based on a logo designed for a company birthday party. Freshbooks is five years old!

The logo:


The cake:


The especially geeky detail? Check out the colour of confetti placed on the letters in "Fresh" and "Bash":


I know, right? Gotta love the details.

This particular cake was a scrumptious combination of Vanilla Sugar cake with Chocolate Truffle Filling. Happy Birthday, Freshbooks!