Uploads from abbietabbie, tagged buttercream

Milly's 18th ....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:44:28 -0700

Milly is the daughter of one of Catherine's great friends and those of you who have kindly looked at my cakes over the years will know I have been making her birthday cakes since she was tiny. In fact, it was making Milly's cakes that really got me into cake decorating.

Milly is a delightful young woman and is always so appreciative of her cakes, but never expects one. In fact her mother has told her that there will be no more cakes for her as there are now new kids on the block, namely her younger brother and sister and, of course Elodie !

It's her actual birthday today but she is having her party tomorrow and I will take this surprise cake along then.
Bottom tier is madeira with Baileys buttercream and the top tier is chocolate with creme de menthe buttercream. Topper is handmade in Fimo. All iced in fondant with plenty of "bling" for the decorations !

Although this is meant to be the last of her birthday cakes, I'm sure I won't be able to ignore a 21st one ! ;o))) LOL

Happy Birthday Milly !!!

Aurelia's Christening Cake .....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:34:06 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

..... for her baptism today.

This was made for the baby daughter of one of our daughter's friends. Aurelia's mummy wanted the baby shoes and rattle that I did a few months ago but the rest of the design was left up to me.

The cake travelled safely today from here on the South East coast up to Birmingham with one of the guests.

Madeira cake filled with vanilla buttercream and strawberry conserve and covered with marzipan and fondant icing. Rattle and shoes made of fondant.

Birthday cake ....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:59:56 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Madeira cake with Bailey's buttercream and decorated in fondant and mexican paste.

A Lion Cake ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:18:49 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

....... for a little girl !

Requested because Wendy is going to see The Lion King (the musical) for her birthday.

A fairly quick and easy cake again as I didn't have time to either sculpt anything or do a detailed topper. What this photo doesn't show is that there is "grass" all around the base of the cake and the lion is meant to vaguely look as though he's emerging from the long grass ...... well, that was the idea !

Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and fondant icing. All decorations are fondant ...... I'd hate to witness the sugar rush though if they eat all that fondant !!!

Wedding Cake ....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:28:14 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

..... decorated with handmade flower(gum)paste freesias, flag irises, and eucalyptus.

The cakes were madeira with coffee buttercream and covered in marzipan and ivory fondant icing.

This was only a small wedding so the cakes are 8" and 10" but I did make a small cutting cake for them just in case of extra hungry guests ! If it's not used, they will share it with the family over the weekend.

I was asked for a two tier cake on tall pillars with pale coloured freesias and with irises on the top, as the groom's late mother's name was Iris.

The bride's bouquet was made up of freesias and little irises.

This cake was a little bit of a nightmare as we have had very high humidity this week and my fondant seemed to be permanently sticky ! We also had appalling weather today and I delivered this to the venue in pouring rain ........ but by the time the bride came out of church this afternoon, the sun was shining ! :o)))

A Birthday Cake for the generations ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:24:13 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

The family of a great friend of mine are celebrating several milestone birthdays this year ..... all ending in a nought !

They are having a big joint celebration party this weekend in London and this is to be the "show" cake. I was asked not to make a cake big enough to feed the 5000 (they are a very big family encompassing great-grandchildren now) but one they could have as a centre piece for the tea table to be enjoyed later by the immediate family.

I had free reign with this but with such a wide age range and both male and female recipients, I was a bit stuck at first. So eventually I decided to go down the bright and fun route and it then just kind of "evolved" !

I put Grandma in pride of place on top (!) and the four other birthday people round the sides ...... each one had their own colour and the stars were twinkled.
Round the back of the board are more fondant streamers and stars.

Madeira cake with lemon buttercream filling and fondant icing.

"Daddy Lion" .......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 04:56:37 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

....... made for the second birthday of a little boy called Kingsley who thinks he's a lion !

He was so excited to see his cake yesterday, especially as it had "Daddy lion" on the top ...... his little face was a picture and I was sorry I didn't take my camera with me when I delivered it. :o(

I know you don't get ladybirds in the jungle but I so wanted to include a few with a trail like this sometime, somewhere on a cake, having seen them on other cakes before !

Madeira cake with raspberry buttercream and fondant icing. Decorations in fondant with added CMC.

This was going to be the tea-table centre piece yesterday (his birthday) and then it was going to be kept and produced again tomorrow at his party when it will be cut and eaten. I'm rather glad it was going to get two "outings" !!! ;o))

See the side details here:
www.flickr.com/photos/abbietabbie/5085677625/in/photostream/

Cinderella for Sophie ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:49:45 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

...... as requested !

This is my second attempt at a Cinderella ..... but this time in the traditional blue rather than pink !

Her skirt is the cake but her torso and head are made in modelling paste rather than being a real doll.
I still haven't got these big "top halves" quite right yet and I struggled once more. This poor soul is in desperate need of a boob job as I seem to have given her a couple of "spaniels ears" for boobs ....... I think I must have held her a bit too tightly in an inappropriate place when I was attaching her torso to her skirt !!!! LOL

Actually this one doesn't look quite so much of a hussy as the previous one did ....... but then with boobs like that, she doesn't really stand a chance !

I intended her head to be tilted like this, but I am hoping and praying that with the additional weight of her hair which was added this morning, that I don't get home from work tonight to find her head has slid off her neck and shoulders !! ;o((

I will hopefully deliver it this evening .......

Madeira cake with vanilla buttercream and fondant iced. What you can't see in the photo is that it is twinkled to the nth degree !

~ I'll be missing now for a few days on my big reunion weekend ...... fingers crossed for fine weather for us please ! ~

* I've just replaced this photo as I realised that I had left her sparkly shoe off the board ..... one that I had to model by hand too as I didn't have a correct size cutter ! Lucky I spotted it in time.
Too much to do, too much to think of ..... and too little brain ....... ;o)

Ruby Wedding Anniversary Cake .... with a South African influence !

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:34:53 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

This cake was for the Ruby Wedding Anniversary celebrations for friends of ours who we have known for well over thirty years !
The wife is South African and they married in Johannesburg, hence the sugar proteas on top of the cake.
The big protea was made for Elizabeth's birthday cake back in January, and she kept it so it could be put on top of their anniversary cake as well. I added some more proteaceae to it this time, namely the Blushing Bride flowers ( Serruria florida ).

They had a lunch party yesterday for some 60 close friends and family, some of whom flew in from South Africa, at a beautiful country hotel ..... the sun shone, the Pimms flowed, the meal was delicious and the company delightful. All in all, we had the most wonderful day !

A 10" madeira cake filled with lemon buttercream and covered in marzipan and fondant.
All flowers made in flower(gum)paste.
The embossed lace was dusted with the palest pink shimmer and I was asked that the decorations be pink, not ruby.
Elizabeth made a fruit cutting cake to go with this, so we had plenty of cake !

{ I went to the Apple Store today with my faulty MacBook and they replaced it with a brand new one on the spot without me having to say a thing ! They customised it exactly like my old one (more RAM, bigger hard drive), set it all up for me and installed iWork as a gift to make up for the inconvenience and expense I had incurred ...... now that's service .... thank you Apple !!! }

Now to catch up with what I've missed .....

A cup of cake and a slice of tea ....... or something like that .....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:39:16 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

When we were in Paris we came across this pack of four cups and saucers. The "cups" are in fact silicone cupcake cases in the shape of a cup and the cake is cooked in them!

Obviously just for the family, as I wouldn't want to give these away, but they're perfect now Andrew's home for tea !!! :o))

There is a warning here ....... never go shopping in Paris with your daughter ....... daughters are a bad influence !!! ;o))) LOL

Christening Cupcake Tower for Felix ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:40:26 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

This is for the youngest grandson of a friend of mine ...... the design is based on the animals on the baby's playmat which, judging by your reaction to the picture I posted earlier of the toppers, seems to be available world-wide !! LOL
www.flickr.com/photos/abbietabbie/4594547649/in/photostream/

Felix's Granny made the cakes and when I got back from setting up the wedding cake yesterday, I collected them, buttercreamed and decorated them so that they could be taken to London yesterday afternoon ready for the Christening today !!!

I was very pleased with the cases I found for these ..... not only were they the perfect colours but they actually kept their colour during cooking !

The little giraffe is made of Artista Soft, as you know, so he can be kept along with the balloon topper I made for the Christening of Felix's brother Rory.
www.flickr.com/photos/abbietabbie/3297385798/in/set-72057...

Top cake iced in fondant, the rest in vanilla buttercream with mexican paste toppers ..... all edible apart from the giraffe.

Best viewed LARGE

They say practice makes perfect ....... I really do hope so !!!!!

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:36:23 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

........ as I definitely need more !

This is my very first topsy-turvy or mad-hatter cake ...... and I wish it was my last ! ;o))

I have been asked to make a mad-hatter wedding cake in June and having never done one before, I thought I ought to have a trial run ...... a wedding cake is not the ideal first-time project for one of these !

I have always made Milly's birthday cake but I usually let her choose what she'd like to have ..... this year I'm afraid she had no choice as she had to be my guinea pig ! Milly's main hobby is dog agility training, hence the paw prints on the bottom tier and the somewhat bizarre bones for dogs exploding out of the cake ! She also loves pink and what you can't see very well is that the ribbon roses have been twinkled too !

Nothing subtle about this cake though .... very bright colours and way too many decorations which were vital in order to cover up the multitude of disasters !
I found the shape very difficult to cover and I think I would be better using ganache instead of buttercream under the fondant when it comes to the wedding cake ..... I might get better edges then. The cake was really a nightmare as the fondant crazed (don't you hate it when you get a rogue batch like that ? ) and tore and to add insult to injury I caught it with my smoother just at the end !! ;o(

There are lots of corrections to be made for the wedding cake .... not least the finish on this which was appalling ...... honestly, the photo really flatters it !
I know the shape is wrong too .... I should have angled the bottom tier in more at the base and the top tier should be further forward ...... but hopefully I can improve next time.

Our daughter suggested the design ..... I know paw prints have been done before but I can't remember by whom, except for Lorraine (Extra Icing) who has done a cake with paw prints and dog bones on it.

Any help, advice or criticism would be much appreciated on this cake !

Every now and then ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:07:36 -0800

abbietabbie posted a photo:

........ the cake from hell comes along and this one certainly had the triple six factor ! It is for the mother of a friend of mine and a lady of whom I am very fond, so of course it was a cake I wanted to go well ..... typical!

The original request had been for a large coffee cake ...... and that's where the trouble started ......

The first cake was a disaster and so was the second ! I then had to dash down to the supermarket on Thursday evening at 10.30 pm to buy some more supplies so that I could make a third cake before I went to work on Friday ! This time I decided to play safe and opt for a madeira cake and fill it with coffee buttercream.

I also decided to make it a smaller cake and make a second cutting one to go with it instead. I think the main reason for the disasters with the larger cakes is because my oven doesn't appear to be cooking evenly at the moment.

It was Friday pm before I could ice it and the cake was really a little too new to ice (I like to leave my madeiras at least a day to settle) and so I ended up with bulging sides ..... on the cake that is but I'm afraid that description does apply to me as well ;o(( !!!! LOL

So ...... change of design to one that covered up the sides ! Thank goodness I had made the flowers well ahead ...... that was my one saving grace !

Anyway the cakes were safely delivered at lunch time today and I have never been so glad to see the back of a cake in all my life ! Fortunately all Joan's family loved it and she will see it at her family party this afternoon.
Explore 30.01.2010

Leon's Christening Cake .....

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:01:43 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Here's the finished Christening cake ..... the little lion has been joined by an elephant, a giraffe and there's a hippo round the back! All made to look like toys and there are the odd button-centered daisies on the board too.

Madeira cake with lemon buttercream and iced in fondant. All animals hand modelled in fondant stiffened with CMC.
Explore 25.09.2009

Sophie's request ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:37:45 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Having seen her Uncle Rupert's cupcake tower, Sophie requested "blue cakes" for her third birthday !

Unfortunately her party was on Sunday and there was no way I could do her cupcakes with all that I had to do for our own party on the Saturday.

So today I made her some "blue cakes" for her to take to nursery to share with her friends. I made the blue more of a turquoise shade though this time rather than a "blue" blue as I thought it looked a bit more girly !!! :o))

Vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream icing, fondant flowers.

A piece of cake ... (2)

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 03:36:10 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Catherine's belated birthday cake.
Chocolate cake torted into three with vanilla and chocolate buttercream and covered in fondant.

Happy Birthday Catherine !

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:26:36 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

It's our daughter Catherine's birthday today and as we won't be seeing her until this weekend, I have posted a little "virtual" cupcake for her.
Catherine loves dragonflies, so this rather gaudy little fellow is to say we hope you have a wonderful day !
Love you lots .... M and D xxxxxx

I am using, for the first time, a little cupcake stand with a glass dome that I was given ...... isn't it cute ?

Cupcake iced in buttercream, dragon fly made in fondant with gelatin wings.

Rupert and his cakes ......

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:00:16 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Here's the Birthday Boy with his cupcakes.
His verdict on them ? "They're very posh ...... and very large" ! ( The large referring to the size of the display, not the individual cakes ..... I think !! LOL )

A lovely time was had by all as you can see from the pictures below !

Rupert for Captain !!!!

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:33:01 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Here's the finished cupcake tower for Rupert's Birthday Party.

Thank you so much Karen (cakebaker_cakemaker) for the brilliant idea of the banner ...... a real life-saver ! LOL I have stuck it onto one of the 'magic' candles Rupert loves so much.

50 cupcakes to feed nearly fifty guests who will be at the barbecue lunch ........ friends and family of all ages and all Rupert's colleagues and staff from the sheltered workshop he attends.

For once we have a gloriously hot and sunny day ..... perfect barbecue weather which is a rare occurrence in the UK !

I'm off now to deliver these and then will be busy all day helping to cook and serve all the food ...... so I'll see you all later !

Cakes iced in vanilla buttercream in the subtle colours that Rupert loves ! ;o)))

Christening Cupcakes.

nobody@flickr.com (abbietabbie) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:09:08 -0700

abbietabbie posted a photo:

Here are some of the cupcakes I made yesterday afternoon to go with Leon's Christening cake. They are decorated with yellow and blue paw prints and flowers with yellow and blue button centres.
I was so thrilled to find pale blue cases for these but once the cakes were cooked the cases lost their colour, so I had to stand them in a second case to get them to look blue again!

Vanilla butter cakes with vanilla buttercream and fondant decorations.

I have just returned from handing these over to Leon and his parents at a motorway service station near Gatwick Airport (about an hour from us) as it was a convenient mid-way point for both of us.

Leon's parents were thrilled with both these and the cake ..... and Leon's a real cutie!

Here's the cake and cupcakes together:
www.flickr.com/photos/abbietabbie/3955900458/in/photostream/