The Grand Finale!!

For our final in my cake decorating class we were given a picture of a cake that we had to recreate our selves using techniques we learned in class. I was sooo nervous because I wasn't that great at butter cream cakes or butter cream detailing and this final was worth half our grade!! I was sooo happy and so thankful when I saw the cake that I had to recreate...it was a fondant cake, with no butter cream at all!!! However, I was not allowed to use fondant because we had not learned fondant in our class. We learned how to do rolled butter cream, which is pretty much like fondant with a few different ingredients, and marzipan, also kind of like fondant but with completely different ingredients. I am so much better at fondant and molding things than butter cream so this was the perfect cake I was given. Here is a picture of the cake I was given to recreate along with the cake I made. I was so happy and proud of this cake and the teacher absolutely loved it...oh and I got an A :D.

Making cakes for Homework!!

So I had signed up to take a cake decorating class that is offered through my school. I was sooooooo excited to start the class...what could be better than making cakes in class and for homework?? However, the class was all about butter cream which is still fun, but I prefer fondant and work much better with fondant. It was challenging and I did learn a lot and got a lot better than I use to be...this cake and these cookies were some of the things I decorated in that class

It's a Jungle Out There!!

The next cake was for my baby cousin Zander. He was turning 1 and having a big birthday party! I was soooo excited for his cake and had been planning it for a very long time!! I wanted to do something with animals so when I found out his birthday party was a jungle theme I knew the perfect cake. I sketched this cake because it was going to be my largest cake with a lot of different pieces. Zander's nickname was Zander Zebra, which also fit perfect with the cake! The idea for the cake was so much fun, it is Zander the Zebra's birthday and he is having a party. He has invited all his jungle friends to his birthday and they are all on their way with party hats and presents in hand (or paws in this case :D ) I absolutely loooved how this cake turned out!

"Zander Zebra's Jungle Party Cake"

When in Rome

I was excited for March because I had two birthdays that month...which meant two cakes I got to make! One was for a friend, but the one I was most excited for was for my baby cousin's first birthday!! My friend's birthday was first though. He loves and is obsessed with old Roman stuff, culture and history. He had recently gone to Rome and so i figured the perfect cake would be something along those lines. I wanted to incorporate a Roman soldier with a horse and chariot...it came out pretty good (minus the horse squishing the cake).

"When in Rome Cake"

Special visitors come to California!!

Around the end of February, beginning of March (can't remember exactly), my cousin and her husband came to visit from Virginia. It is always nice when they come and the family is all together again! Anyways, my cousin's (the one visiting) birthday is in March, so we were going to celebrate it with her early since she would be back in Virginia on the actual day. My aunt asked if I would make her a cake, of course I said yes! Her favorite color is pink, and her favorite flower are lilies. She also has a dog named Lou that she absolutely adores..so I wanted to be sure to get him on the cake. It was my first attempt at making lilies and it went pretty well. She loved the cake so that is all that really mattered to me. :)

"Lilies and Lou and Polka Dots too cake"

Flower Power!

I really wanted to practice flowers more and get better at them, so when my friend Kayla asked me to do a cake for her mom's birthday I thought it would be perfect! Her favorite flowers were tulips and her favorite colors were purple and green, and so I went to work coming up with an idea. I looooved the idea I had for her, a small little pot of purple tulip flowers, which I added some daisies to to brighten it up and purple and green colored cake. I absolutely love how this cake turned out and it is still one of my favorite cakes I have done. Everything is fondant, including the flower pot (people always think it is a real pot).

"Flower Pots and Polka Dots Cake"

Grammy's Birthday

So my Grammy's birthday was coming up and, of course, I wanted to make her a cake! My grammy loves flowers so I decided to make her a flower cake. I had never done flowers before so I thought it would be a good chance to do something different and that I had never done. I was orginally going to do her faveorite flowers (roses), but then decided a whole bunch of different flowers all over the cake would be fun! The flowers came out pretty good for my first time doing them, but i definitely need to work on them for sure.

"Grammy's Garden Cake"

A New Year with more cakes!

So we're caught up to 2010. It is a new year with new and infinite possibilities! I was very happy for the new year. It was a chance to start fresh and make some new decisions. I had finally found a new hobby that I loved and was passionate about and was good at (and getting better). But I still had a lot to learn. I wanted to learn more and get better at cakes. Up until now I had taught myself everything and just pretty much did it my own way. My mom found out that they offered cake decorating classes at Michael's, so we signed up and went to class once a week for a month. The class was fun and it was great to meet other people who shared my passion, and getting to decorate a cake every week was awesome. However, I pretty much learned things I already knew from reading books. Although it did help with my technique and I did learn a few things. Here are the cakes I made in class :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Ohh the Holiday Seasons...and you know what that means....lots and lots of sweets!! Last year for Christmas I made goody baskets for two of my friends and their families, so we made a lot of treats that year. We made gingerbread men, rice krispy treats, cookies, fudge, caramel popcorn and other little candies. We also made much more goodies for our own family christmas parties, including....you guessed it a cake! I was starting to fall in love with making cakes, my last two attempts at it went very well (for only my second and third times). I loved making cakes, I had fun doing them and loved sharing them with others so I wanted to make one for my whole family.  So I thought about all the things that make me think of Christmas: Christmas trees, snowmen, christmas lights, stockings, decorations, gingerbread men, candy canes, ice skating, and of course presents! Put them all together and what do you get?? One totally fun and awesome Christmas cake!! (and yummy too)

"Christmas time is Here cake"

Third time's the charm

Soooo since my friend's cake went well and turned out decently, I decided I would try another cake and keep practicing. My dad's birthday was next and I immediately knew the perfect cake for him. My dad loves our dogs more than anything (besides me, my mom, and sis). He spends most his time with them and does pretty much everything with them, after all they are man's best friend!! SO of course I would make his cake with his two favorite boys on it :D

"Man's Best Friends Cake"

 He loved his cake and saved it for 3 days before eating it! I was happy with it too!

Take two...and action!

So after endless nights of crying myself to sleep (kidding of course), I decided to give the cake decorating another chance. Next victim, my friend Mika. Her birthday was coming up so I decided I would try the cake dealio again, this time with the help of my mother (thank God for her!) My friend Mika looves rock music so I decided to make a her cake a rock n roll themed cake. I made all the pieces to the cake out of fondant and all were hand done and hand cut...I was verrry happy with how this cake turned out (for only being my second attempt) and it is the cake that really began it all! :)

"Rock N Roll Cake"

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start

A little over a year ago (September of 2009 to be exact) I wanted to make a special and reallllyy nice cake for my mom for her birthday, and this is where the story begins!... During this time I had been trying to search and find a new hobby for me, something productive, fun, and artsy, and something I was good at. I began to have an interest in baking, I have always enjoyed it, but wanted to get into it more and learn more. I watched cake shows on TLC and Food Network all the time and had just gotten a book about decorating cakes/cupcakes so I began to pursue it a little bit more and to try it out. My moms birthday was coming up and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. So I went out and got all the supplies needed. I had no idea what I was doing, pretty much guessing  and just going along and what not, I skimmed the cake book briefly, and then went at it. Well...let me just say...the finished product was not what I was really going for, it was lopsided and uneven...and just UGLY!

Of course my mom looved it, despite it's hideous appearance. I, on the other hand, HATED it,  I am a perfectionist when it comes to things like this, so me not being able to do it well really upset me to the point where I really had no desire to try again. But I eventually sucked it up and tried again. :)

Just a little bit about ME!

Hey guys! My names Tracie. I thought I would do a short little introduction and tell a little bit about myself..so here it goes! I am currently 22 years old and am a full time college student. As of right now, I am going to school to become an elementary teacher, specializing in working with kids who have disabilities, I have changed my mind and major many times, but I am pretty happy and confident with this choice! :) I would love to pursue my dream and passion of baking and decorating cakes, and one day would loooove to open my own bakery and cake shop, but for now I will stick with this. Nonetheless, I am still considering pastry school (more fun then school hehe). Baking and decorating cakes is my love, my passion and my hobby, I love doing it oh so very much. I made this blog so that I could share my cakes with all you! I hope you enjoy them :D