Monday 9 May 2011

Cake decorating efforts to date...

Man alive, I'm craving cake today.  Badly craving it.  I'm working at our Milton Keynes office tomorrow which, happily, is right around the corner from Starbucks.  I have already decided that I'm heading there first thing to fetch a cappuccino and a chocolate muffin.  Who cares if it will wipe out most of my WeightWatcher points for the day - I'll have butternut squash and bananas for dinner.  (Zero point saviours; get me through many a binge.)

So, with cake on the brain, I thought I'd do a post on my cake decorating efforts so far.  These are the only ones I have ever made, I'm a complete beginner.  We all have to start somewhere! 


My first novelty cake.  I was really proud of this at the time even though the Waybuloo characters are porkier than they should be:


Izzie loved it and watching her chubby little hands make a beeline for De Li (that's the pink one, I know it isn't obvious!) made the stress and frustrations of making it (oh yes, there were tears) all worthwhile.

Grandma's birthday cake - a hippo in a bath tub (a Maisie Parrish cake).  Grandma wasn't impressed, she thought I was calling her a hippo.  Seriously, she went in a bit of a strop.  She's 79.


(these are especially awful photos, sorry, 
I was probably shaking after Grandma's reaction!)


This Easter cake is another Maisie Parrish design.  I made it last year:



Fun, fun, fun weaving baskets out of sugarpaste! 


I made these little carrots and bunny paws and popped them on the top of iced cupcakes.


This toadstool was for a friend's daughter's birthday party.  I think it is from a Debbie Brown book.



And this one is taken from a few Maisie Parrish designs.  It was for my niece's second birthday.





So there we are, my very modest collection of cakes.  

Nicki 

x


9 comments:

  1. Don't do yourself down! You've done a superb job. It's so hard to get fondant icing flat and smooth on a cake but you've totally nailed it. I have seen some "professional" cakes that aren't a patch on yours. Case in point, my step sister wedding cake. AWFUL! Embarrassingly awful. I hope she didn't pay a lot for it.

    I love your Grandma's hippo cake, god bless her and her strop!!

    Love the easter cake too.

    It's so hard to diet isn't it? I have days when I have 0 point soup and salad all day just so I can have a snickers bar. I'm doing the old pure points weight watchers as my recipe books and scales aren't compatible with the pro points. I wish banana's were zero points, sigh! stick with it though it's worth it, at least that's what I'm telling myself...1 stone to go...gulp!

    xxx

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  2. My beginner cakes wouldn't look like that I can tell you, they are fantastic. Love your grandma.
    x Sandi

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  3. Wow those cakes are amazing - especially the teddy one! Did I read right that you learnt at an evening class? I've been thinking about doing one in either sewing, photography or cake decorating.

    I'm loving your blog, having just read back to the beginning. How are you getting on with the crochet?

    I've just bought the cute & easy crochet book too & am trying to decide which to do first - I may have to go out & buy a teapot just so I can make the teacosy! I started crocheting last July after stumbling across & being inspired by Lucy at Attic24.

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  4. OMG these are amazing! I envy anyone who can do decent icing!!!!!!! Love, love, loved the hippo cake and laughed at your Grandma's reaction!!!!!

    I seriously need to stop making and eating cake. I tried on all my summer clothes and need to lose at least half a stone to make them look anywhere near decent! oh dear!!!!!

    Have a lovely day!

    xxxxxxxxxxx

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  5. Oh wow love, the cakes are fab! And to get comments like that from Cuckoo is pretty top notch stuff as she is amazing with cake decorating.
    I tried to get the body cream today and the woman in Waitrose said she'd never seen it there and it was a possibility that your Waitrose was sent it by mistake??? HUH?????
    So I was gutted and bought some Jergens Cocoa Butter Body Lotion instead as it was half price.
    So bit annoyed but going to look around for Dead Sea Magik and let you know how I get on!!
    Hope you enjoyed Starbucks today!Am working tonight now but on here now and again!!!
    x x x

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  6. Oh, you guys!

    Thank you so much to all of you for posting comments, it means such a lot and has boosted my confidence no end!

    Nicki

    xx

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  7. Now listen to me Nicki, looking at these Amazing Fab cakes I cannot believe you are a beginner!! How you can make these beauties, choose and wear all those pretty shoes (right my style, high heel and ballet!) and even tell me you are trying my crochet hexagon tutorial - at the same time- ?! There is only one conclusion: you are amazing too.

    have a lovely weekend my friend!
    love, Maaike

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  8. Oh my gosh, wow! I never saw this post when you wrote it but WOW!! I'm in complete awe of you abilities to make cakes. I'm starting to worry now what I'm going to do for Rose's 1st birthday cake... I did have an idea but I'm not sure now. That toadstall cake is beautiful! I love it... I've never even heard of Debbie Brown though.. where would I even begin?!

    Ashley xxx

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  9. Oh my gosh, wow! I never saw this post when you wrote it but WOW!! I'm in complete awe of you abilities to make cakes. I'm starting to worry now what I'm going to do for Rose's 1st birthday cake... I did have an idea but I'm not sure now. That toadstall cake is beautiful! I love it... I've never even heard of Debbie Brown though.. where would I even begin?!

    Ashley xxx

    ReplyDelete