An Army Tank for a Colonel

Congratulations Colonel Graham!

I was amazed and honored when I was asked to make a cake for the promotion ceremony of Colonel Graham. When his wife said she wanted a tank, I could hardly contain myself. I have wanted to make a tank for a long time and I knew I was up to the challenge, so I was excited to get the opportunity.

 Making the cake was a lot of fun, but delivering it was even better. The ceremony was being held at a Military base here in Orlando. I drove up to the large gates and 4 soldiers in fatigues some with guns across their chests asked me to get out of the car, open the hood and open all doors, so they could inspect the car before I entered the base. I happily obliged and sat at a table waiting for the reaction when they made it to the back of the car and finally saw the cake.
I was chatting with a few of the soldiers when I here, "Is that the cake?" and one of the men popped out from the side of the car. 'You guys have got to see this! Can you eat that!"
The others looked at me confused and we walked around the car together. At that moment I think I made 4 new best friends. They looked at every detail and asked how it was all made. After that it was pretty smooth sailing to get through the gate.
As we carried the cake in to the building, I loved seeing the discipline instilled in the soldiers. I could see them trying hard to continue with their duties but trying to get a peek at the cake. It was truly an honor to be among so many men and women who sacrifice so much and work so hard to insure that our country stays secure and free.

Onto the cake,

The bottom tier of the cake, the sandy part is large enough to feed 100 people. It is half chocolate cake and half vanilla cake smothered with lots and lots of Vanilla icing. The sand is shortbread cookies that were ground up and added a nice crunch to the cake.

The tank itself is a little more complicated. The tank was approximately 14 inches long and 9 inches wide. The bottom of the tank is vanilla cake and the top turret is Rice Krispie treats covered in white chocolate to help it hold it's shape. Both tiers are covered in fondant.

All of the details are done in fondant or gum paste. The only non-edible parts of the cake are the antenna and the gun in the front. The gun is a wooden dowel covered in gum paste.

Now you may be wondering why did you make a dark green tank on sand? That is not camouflaged at all and would never happen and I will tell you...I made it that way because that is the way the Colonel wanted it and I do whatever the Colonel wants. I guess that kind of goes with the title.
So again, Congratulations to Colonel Graham, it was an honor to make a cake for you. And thank you to his amazing wife Bridgette, it was a joy working with you.

Tropical Orchid Wedding

We love Brides!

This is a traditional style cake with a beautiful modern twist. I love the simpleness of the design and the choice of orchids with the large palms around the base.  

The fountain on the bottom added the perfect touch to the tropical wedding and made the cake stand out in a beautiful way.
Congratulations to our Bride and Groom! They are an amazing and fun couple and I truly enjoyed working with them!

Celebrating 90 Years!!!

What an honor it was to make a 90th Birthday Cake! The Birthday Girl has collected elephants most of her life and wanted an elephant cake to celebrate. And what goes better with elephants than peanuts?  

 The cute little elephants are made of gumpaste and the peanuts are white chocolate.

 Aren't the elephants just so fun? Watch for the tiny mouse just waiting to scare those cute little elephants!

Can you find him? He is peeking at you!!!

Congratulations Nurse Welty!

Finishing Nursing School is a huge accomplishment and it is amazing to be a part of someones big day!

The stethescope it all made of fondant and gum paste and the nurse bag is filled with Vanilla cake,  Raspberry filling and Almond butter cream. I am sure Nurse Welty's bag will eventually be filled the more important tools, but for now at least they are yummy!

Congratulations to Nurse Welty!

Cute and Cuddly Panda Bears

A few of her favorite things!

Panda Bears, Purple and Polka dots!

I think this cake speaks for itself. Maddie's mom was so cute when ordering this cake. She told Maddie she was getting a cake, but the design was a complete surprise. I loved the look on her face when she walked through the door. She was so excited, shy but excited and the longer they stayed the more talkative Maddie got. By the end Maddie's mom was pulling her out the door. We had also made one extra Panda Bear that didn't fit on the cake, but Maddie asked if she could take it home too. Of course! She carried it everywhere we went.

Thank you to Maddie and her mom!

Happy Birthday Maddie!

House of Anubis Cake

For the past few weeks we have been so busy, we have not had time to update our blog, so here it is. Get ready for an inside look to the craziness that has been Wendy Woo Cakes for the past few weeks.

It all started with The House of Anubis. I must admit, when I got the call for this cake I had no idea what House of Anubis was, and since then I have now seen enough of the show to last me a life time. But to get a cake right, you must do research. For those of you like me, it is a show on Nickelodeon for pre-teens and teens. It is sort of a Harry Potter meets Ancient Egypt theme with 8 teens living in a Boarding House and their school colors are Maroon, Black and Silver.

The symbol on the top of the cake is the Eye of Horus which is the logo for the show.

The bottom tier of the cake is hand painted to look like the dark forest that surrounds the House.

I really enjoyed making this cake, and Cassidy loved it! It was so fun to see her face and how excited she was when she saw it.

Happy Birthday Cassidy!

Florida ICED Cake Competition

Last weekend on March 27th, I took the plunge into the world of cake competitions. I will be honest and say that I am not the competitive type. I don't go into competitions knowing I am going to win or talking myself up, it is just not who I am. I am a self critic and I love feedback about the work I do.

 I guess I am more of the performer type. I love to share the talents I have and love to get feedback, but the winning and loosing is just not for me. I like it when everyone is a winner. So anyway...competing is very difficult for me, but I know it was a good, albeit giant and very scary step for me in my cake career.

 So the big question...Did I win?...No, but I can tell you about the cake I made and all of the wonderful things I learned. I am so glad that I went and participated in the competition. After setting up my cake I was able to take 2 amazing classes by Rebecca Sutterby of Sugar Creations.

She taught a Perfect Fondant class where I learned all the ways I did it wrong for the competition and all the ways to do it right from now on. She also taught a mold making class on how to make silicone molds for use with fondant, gum paste and isomalt.

 

So, onto my cake. The competition's theme was "Romantic Wedding Dresses" Each contestant was to pick a wedding dress. Any wedding dress you wanted and then base your cake design on that dress. I chose the dress "Camellia" by Rivini. The first time I saw it, I was amazed by how simple, beautiful and unique it was.

 I loved the large rosettes that cover the entire bottom half of the dress. It was stunning and romantic. I searched the web and magazines for months for different dresses, but kept coming back to this one.

 The rosettes are made of gum paste. I rolled them out very thin with a pasta machine, then cut them into 3 different strips, stacked them on each other and formed them to the cake. It took many many hours, but it was so fun to watch it come together.

 Every time I make a cake it amazes me how a few ingredients like sugar, flour, and butter can be combine in so many different way to create something beautiful and delicious at the same time.

Next year the competition theme is "Masquerade Ball" and you better believe that I will be ready for it. Also, Thank you to Lisa Menz and Melanie Judge who put together the competition. it was a huge success and I am so glad that I was a part of it.

Fudge Easter Eggs for Orlando and West Palm Beach

For over 50 years, Easter Eggs have been a family tradition. My Grandma started making them for friends and family and it quickly expanded to a long lasting family tradition and my grandma became famous in her community for her Fudge Easter Eggs. You were incredibly lucky to receive one of  Blanche's Easter Eggs.  I always felt so special when I would find my basket on Easter and there sitting beautifully in the middle was my egg with my name on it.

We all treasured our eggs. We designated spots on the counter in the kitchen for our egg and no one could move or touch it. Some years it took us weeks to finish our eggs. Some of us would dig the bottom out and keep the shell intact so we wouldn't disturb the beauty of the egg, but still taste of its goodness. Other years we would dig in and finish it off that very day. That was rare though.

One year my sister picked my brothers name off his egg so he couldn't prove it was his and then ate most of it. That was not a happy Easter in our house.

 My grandma also made delicate birds out of icing and my younger cousin who was maybe 3 years old got into grandmas kitchen unattended and broke off every birds head and ate them. Many birds went out headless that year. My grandma took it better than I would have suspected.

 This year as I begin my new endeavour with Wendy Woo Cakes, I thought it would be fitting the share a family tradition with all of you. If you would like to order Easter Eggs for your family please go to my website at http://www.wendywoocakes.com/ and order your eggs today. Each egg can be personalized for your family members. Eggs are $10 each. If you live in the Orlando or West Palm Beach areas. At this time eggs are not available for shipping, we don't want you to get mushy eggs in the mail. Sorry.

Happy Easter!

Celebrating 1 year of life!

Happy Birthday Jack!

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be asked to make a cake for a "smash the cake" photo shoot for my good friends at Treasure Photography here in Orlando. www.itreasurephotography.com

So meet Jack, one of the cutest and happiest babies ever. He is getting ready to take the huge step into being 1 year old.

The cake is vanilla with vanilla butter cream, nice and simple, with fondant decorations. The funny part was that Jack had no interest in the cake, he just wanted the little fondant balls that surrounded the cake.

His mom even tried smashing his hand in the cake so he could get a taste, but all he did was shake the frosting off his hands, look at her like, "who is that woman and what did she do with my mom?" and then go for another fondant ball.

In the end Jack's mom had a great time smashing the cake, we had a lots of laughs, and Jack loved the fondant. We were all happy and didn't the pictures turn out great?
So thank you to Jennifer at Treasure Photography and to Jack's mom, Barbara, and especially to Jack who played along so well with us three crazy women. Don't worry Jack it won't be the last time women perplex you!

What a Week!

Where to begin?

I have had one of the best weeks of my life! My mom and my sister came to visit from across the country and we have had a wonderful time together. If you have read my blog, you know all about my Grandma and the great influence she was on me throughout my life. She taught me to bake and decorate cakes, I watched her for hours as she decorated cakes and I sat in awe at the artistry and perfection, but this week I have learned that my mom is the unsung hero behind my grandma's success. My mom spent countless hours cleaning, baking, mixing, stirring, chocolating and helping my grandma. So this week while she was here, I asked if she would teach me the traditional techniques of candy making and chocolating. We made divinity, fudge and penoche. We practiced tempering chocolate and we talked and laughed our way through the week. Those few days went way too fast, but I am so grateful for the time that I spent with her this week.

Thanks mom for all that you have taught me. Thanks for believing in me and teaching me to believe in myself.

Enough of the mushy stuff...onto cakes!

As a celebration for Dr. Seuss Day, my son's school held a cake competition. My son was really excited for me to enter a cake, so how could I say no, plus I have always wanted to make a Dr. Seuss cake. So can you guess how well I did? Hmmm...I will let you think about that for a moment.

One of my favorite characters in Dr. Seuss' books is, of course, Horton. He is loyal, brave and the greatest friend in the world. I think this world needs more Hortons.

 So how did I do in the cake competition?...Let's just say, it was never about winning and I was surprised I came in 3rd...My son loved it and that is all that matters, because then we got to bring it home and eat it. Yum!

So onto the other cakes of the week, we were asked to make a simple cheesehead, which  I am always happy to help with.

Go Packers!

And who can forget the Tennessee Volunteers!

I was actually very happy with the way this cake came out. I was asked to make it for my husband's boss.

I have never been a Tennessee fan, but I sure am now!

Happy Birthday Bill!