My Signature Cake...

I can't believe I haven't posted in over a week! Actually, I can. I warned you that I was lousy at blogging. I may be many things, but I almost always tell the truth. So to get back in the swing of things here is a little bit about my "signature" cake. There is only one cake I've ever made more than once (excluding simple cakes). The Princess Pillow Cake with a gumpaste crown. My inspiration for this cake was my step daughter Lexi. Unfortunately, the version I made for Alexis was my first and far from my best. I was so nervous about carving it too much that I didn't carve it nearly as much as I should have. The crown was made of gumpaste. My original plan was to make the individual pieces and then let them dry together. Unfortunately, the gumpaste had other ideas. The pieces didn't stick together as they dried. So I had to make edible glue. While the crown dried white, the "glue" dried with a yellowish tint. It just about sent me over the edge. Despite all these problems I was thrilled with this pitiful little cake.

A year went by before I had the opportunity to re-attempt this cake. When I met with soon to be four year old Emma she knew exactly what kind of cake she wanted. I sat down with her one morning and asked her what kind she was thinking about. She didn't hesitate before passing me a well loved door knocker featuring the Classic Disney Princesses and a small pink plastic cell phone with Princess Aurora on the front. Emma pointed to Sleeping Beauty and announced that she wanted a princess crown cake. I described the princess pillow cake and Emma quickly agreed. So here is what she got:

My original plan was to airbrush the crown gold after adding the swirls and accents. But when I saw this it looked so much like the cartoon version of Princess Aurora's crown that I didn't want to risk messing it up. In the end, Emma loved her cake (at least that's what my sources say). And a week or so later I was commissioned to make a cake for an adult "Princess" and for her I went ahead with the airbrushing. And was thrilled with the results! So was the birthday girl.