It's Graduation Season...the finale

Well I ended graduation season off with making 2 cakes, one for my daughter who's going to high school, and the other for my niece who's going to Kdg. I don't cover many cakes in fondant and I don't make very many tiered cakes. I can, but don't have a big request for them, sooooo...yep, you gussed correctly. I did both; fondant and tiered! Well, for my daughter only. I made her a 2 tier; 6" (2 layer) Strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream, and a 9" (2 layer) Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. To decorate, I put edible pearls around the bottom of each tier and letter cut-outs that read CONGRATS CLASS OF 2015. I topped off the 6" tier with a graduation cap and tassel with her name on it. For my niece I kept it simple, it's a 1 layer Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that read ABC, 123, 2015 and a grad cap with tassel, I thought it was adorable! Any who, here are the pics! Excuse the mini cake, I was so late for the party (4th of July / surprise grad party), that I didn't have time to smooth the frosting completely...YIKES...LOL!

The Challenge

I won't get into all of the details publicly, but I was asked (by the parents) to make a cake for my youngest nephews (my brothers youngest) b-day. Oddly enough I can't remember his exactly b-day, but the party is tomorrow. As you've read in my previous posts, I don't have a lot of experience using fondant/gum paste, and I'm just now starting to feel comfortable with buttercream...I think...lol. Anyway, below is the cake that I'm making (minus the bottom white and red striped tier).  It will be a yellow cake with fresh strawberries. The party is carnival themed and the cake was found randomly online so it's def not my photo or theirs. 

Wilton's Course 2 - Flowers and Cake Designs

Well based on my last post you probably figured out that I would be taking this class...or maybe not. The first class was a little challenging for me thanks to my homemeade fondant. The fondant was perfect...but putting it into a mold to make flowers didn't go so great. I didn't know that homemeade fondant would be too soft and get stuck 😔 (I had to use a lot more powered sugar!). Anyway, as I always do when I get home from class, I play with the product. So I made the flowers from class (the originals tore into pieces when trying to remove them from the mold), and then decided to play with different roses that I found on YouTube. Of course I still have a lot of practicing to do, but I think my goal is to become a Wilton Instructor and freelance baker/decorator (I'd rather work for myself doing weddings, b-days, etc.). The flowers in class had a combination of fondant and gum paste. This was my first time working with either and I must say it was very interesting...I know I'm going to love this! 😃