My family and I count down to this time of year immediately after Labour Day... so for 349 days lol! This is our big, official vacation as a family. We take a week off in July, and usually just do day trips, head to the beach, the drive-in, things like that, staying close to home. But this year, we were graciously invited to spend a week at our friend's trailer near Port Dover. We had so much fun! We swam, fished, hiked, took in some history and ate like kings. We had the BEST food ever: chili, BBQ chicken, steaks, burgers, corn on the cob, meatloaf.. and to make up for that, I've been eating salad every. single. day. since then. I'm done with salad, for the record!
So our August vacation is spent camping in the lovely Algonquin Provincial Park. I may have mentioned it before, but this is a family tradition that we've been carrying on. My grandparents stayed there, my parents stayed there and now we stay there, with the high hopes that our boys will take their families there one day. So we camp there for almost the whole week, come back the Thursday evening and then spend the next day at the Canadian National Exhibition, which the kids also love! It's a bit of a whirlwind week for us, but we wouldn't have it any other way!
So let's talk cake..
I am really my own worst critic, and I KNOW this, but this bloody Caesar cake would be better with fondant. I also know not every cake I do is going to turn out in reality how I have it pictured in my mind, but I learned something with this one, and that is what is important here. :) And it makes me feel better to assure you that the picture does not do this cake justice, it truly looked better in person.
Next:
These cute cupcakes celebrated a friend's daughter's birthday. Last year I made the Mermaid Barbie cake... this year, she wanted red velvet cupcakes and marble cupcakes with all kinds of different toppers. So I decided on a summery theme, with the exception of a few animals and flowers. My favourites include the hot dog and hamburger, the bikini, flip flops and popsicles (made from Mike n Ike candies). They were a hit!
The client for this cake showed me a picture and decided to go with part fondant, part buttercream. So the trick to this cake was to make the buttercream as smooth as possible. I iced it, froze it, and smoothed it with a hot spatula. I was pretty satisfied! My awesome husband cut the horse out of fondant, and then cut and attached the checkerboard design to the side of the cake, using Wilton Sugar Sheets. Not sure if I'll use them again, but they helped!
This Michaelangelo cake was for another repeat customer... last year I did a Wallace & Gromit cake for her grandson :) This was done by a frozen buttercream transfer... and I'm still not officially sold on the technique, it turned out way better than the first time I tried it!
And the last cake before my vacation starts is Cookie Monster! It was done in a similar way to the Elmo cake a couple of months ago, but the "fur" was purposely piped askew :) I really, really like how it turned out.
I have another order for Cookie Monster later this month, but if the client reads this, rest assured, it will not be identical to this cake! :)
Enjoy the next couple of weeks, ladies and gents, and as always, stay sweet!
