A Week Off.

We have a week off from baking this week. I am really torn about the whole thing. I REALLY enjoy this, and I am thinking about baking a cake just to give me something to do. There are so many things we don't know how to do, and stuff we haven't tried yet. Gum paste and modeling chocolate are both something I am very curious about.
I am really excited about trying to do a drum set cake. The whole kit. Bass drum, snare, tom, and a cymbal. I have it all played out in my head as to how it would look and word. I just can't think of a reason to make it yet. It would be a really big cake, and pretty expensive to make. I can't think when the last time I've been this motivated about anything. This is really fun. Thank you all for believing in us, and allowing us to be a part of your special days. -CH

Cakes on board

Ok, so today the first time I had to deliver a cake by myself. Every little bump in the road made me pinch my cheeks (and not the ones that blush when you're embarrassed) a little bit harder than the last. I felt like I needed on of those "Baby on Board" signs only one that says Cakes on Board: Please Don't Ride My Tail. Anyways, I'm pretty sure it took me about 25 minutes to get from my house which is about one mile off the interstate down to the birthday party which was one mile off the next exit down from ours. It was maybe a total of 5 miles...25 minutes--5 miles...man, I was driving slow. I'm sure Griffin thought I was crazy. Anywho, I've been so excited to post the pictures, so here it is...step by step (that makes me want to sing the theme song from that TV show. Step by step, day by day) Here is the GI JOE logo: The top is an image I foun online. The bottom is the one I made.

Now here is the top portion of the cake all carved up.

And here it is with the tracks and covered in fondant.

Now here it is with some of the details put on, such as the logos and "Happy Birthday" but it's still not quite done yet.

Here it is with all the final touches:

So, there you have it. A GI JOE army tank. We used a new technique on this one. We "painted" the tank to make it appear "dirty." It's kind of like when you play softball and you have a new pair of cleats...the first thing you do when you get out on the field is rub them in the dirt. When they look like their brand new, it makes you look like a rookie. Same with Army tanks I suppose. The cleaner they are...the easier the target. Ok maybe not, but for some reason that's what came to my mind. And after all, this is my blog. Thanks Christy for asking us to do this cake for you! It was so fun!

MISSION COMPLETION

Well...GI Joe is ready for battle! Or is it war? I'm not really sure which.

But before I continue I must make one correction from the post yesterday. I did not come up with the two peas in a pod all on my own. Actually Suzzy's sister came up with that as the theme for the shower.

Now that that's all cleared up...GI JOE. I can't post any pictures yet, just in case the person it's for is following...but it will be up tomorrow. Final touches have been made and I'm yet again a little sleepy. I will give details on the cake tomorrow after the picture gets posted.

On another note that is kind of related to the cake but not really. Yesterday while we were working on rolling out fondant and doing a few of the detail, Griffin really wanted to help. He is so good about watching and not touching anything, but this time he kept saying, "I do it Daddy." We couldn't resist so we gave him a small piece of fondant and he ran to his play kitchen (thank you Oma) and got his rolling pin. "Just like you do it," he told us. Cutest thing ever. He sat there for at least 10 minutes "I rollling fondant" he kept explaining. Now for any of you that know Griffin, 10 minutes is a long time. After we finished rolling fondant, we fed the kids as quickly as possible and made our way to the Braves game. Who would've thought the 50% chance of rain should've been 100% chance of flooding at Turner Stadium. We got there and waited in the car for a minute and then it stopped. How wonderful! We made our way into the stadium. This was Griffin's first time at a baseball game. He was amazed. That's a lot to take in for a two year old. We had awesome seats, thanks to PDQ Services. So, Chris took Griffin right next to the dugout to show him where all the baseball players sat. I guess since Griffin is so cute, one of the players tossed him a ball. It made his night. He held that ball through the entire game. And it just kept getting better. We all know, it is everyone dream to be on the big screen. Well, Griffin and Taylor made the cut. I mean, they were after all the cutest kids there ;) They were on the big screen waving and smiling. All we had to say is, "you see that camera that is right in your face (because he was literally, right there) wave to him." And they did just that. What a fun family night.

(Insert Wayne's World flashback intro here) Wee Ooo Wee Ooo

The next cake that was on the docket after the dog cake was Suzzy's baby shower cake. She is a really good friend of my wife, and our family. Such good friends in fact, we gave her one of my dogs. I wouldn't do that for just anyone. She was pregnant with twin boys at the time, and Katie really wanted to do something cute for her shower. Katie took the helm on this one, and came up with "two peas in a pod" theme. She wanted to make a cake that looked like there were two peas in a pod, not too far of a stretch from her original idea. (Sarcasim for those of you that don't know me.) We haven't had ANY experience with fondant, and thought this a good time to try it. I would like to add that when you are making a cake for someone special, trying new things will really make you an emotional basketcase. Not pointing fingers or saying names, but ---> Katie Hooker. We baked, what seemed to be, a million cakes for this one. I think this cake could have fed 9,000 people. We used Pyrex dishes for the little tykes heads, and a rectangle cake pan for the pod. We trimmed it down to make it kinda diamond shaped, and dirty iced it. For those of you that aren't in the know, dirty icing is the first layer of icing you put on a cake that prevents crumbs from getting into your final layer, also called a "crumb coat". We covered everything with the fondant and pieced it together. For our first time using fondant, I think we did a good job.

All American Hero

Today, Chris is at the fire department. We had Puggles at church with Griffin and now we're home. I knew I should get some work done on the GI Joe cake for Saturday, since tomorrow we're going to the Braves game. I went ahead and carved most of the army tank and made the GI Logo for the side. My hands are officially a color they shouldn't be and I am officially sleepy :) I know all night long I will be dreaming of the "All American Hero," but I'm just GIDDY about the whole thing. -Mrs.

A New Beginning.

Katie and I are starting on a new adverture with more vam and vigor than we have had about anything in the past. As you guessed, its a cake making company. We have email addresses, websites, facebook accounts, and now a blog. This is something we want to cherish for a lifetime and share with our friends.


Katie and I got into this whole cake making thing as a challenge for our son's first birthday. We made him a little green frog cake. It turned out quite well, if I must say, and the public opinion of the cake was great.

We took the compliments in stride and didn't think much of it.... Until... Our neighbor had a request for a cake.
The request didn't seem too difficult at the time, she made it sound like all she wanted was a "publix cake" with a dog picture on it. Katie and I are not big fans of the "PC" look. Its not that we think they are cheap, they are fantastic cakes in fact, we just like things a little more 3D. I wish I had half the talent of some of the Publix cakes makers. I can't spell my own name with icing yet, muchless Happy 50th Birthday Tammie, Tim, John, And Edgar. With all that being said, we underwent a huge task. It kept us up for nights trying to figure out how to make a cake that looked like a dog. With no formal training, and without ever watching any of the Fam Cake shows, this is what we came up with. The body is cake, the head is cereal treats, and the legs are twinkies. We knew we were on to something...