Scuba Diver Looking into a Cave Birthday Cake

cakelava.com

The colorful scuba diver looking into a cave birthday cake is one of our favorite recent projects! The week Rick made the cake was hectic because his other cakes were also artistically demanding, making the week as challenging as those that have more cakes with less complexity. The cake was made as a 21st birthday gift from his aunt to Joey, a Marine Biology major at the University who enjoys scuba diving.

Rick started making the decorations for the cake early in the week, allowing extra time to sculpt the cave and scuba diver. Sculpting the cave was very difficult. It was important to make it look as realistic and organic looking as possible. Rick estimates it took him 4 to 5 hours to make just the cave and diver. A cake with this big a wow needs to be tasty on the inside and the client chose our "Broke da Mouth" flavor, a delicious mango cake with a mango curd and cream filling with Li Hing Mui. Li hing mui is a sweet and salty dried plum sold in the islands and a popular ingredient with local chefs.  In Hawaii, "Broke da Mouth" is a pidgin English term that literally means the flavor is so good, it will break your mouth - an explosion of flavor! My mouth is practically breaking just thinking about our "Broke da Mouth" cake!

I always have to smile when I see Rick making cakes with a coral scene. He has used some version of a coral scene on many under the sea cakes. We spent a good part of 2012 touring around the world with his "Discover Your Inner Artist" clownfish class, where he taught students how to make the realistic looking coral. The coral pieces have been incredibly versatile over the years, being used on both sculpted and non-sculpted ocean themed cakes. Although I have watched Rick and his students make hundreds of the colorful decorations, it never gets old and it always brings the already lifelike cakes to another level!

Under the Sea with Octopus Wedding Cake

Sarah and Daniel were married in Lanikai, a beach suburb of Kailua, at the beautiful Mid-Pacific Country Club on May 15th. This couple knew what they wanted for their wedding cake from the time they booked us. A four tier under the sea wedding cake with a realistic octopus, sea horses, honus (Hawaiian sea turtles), jellyfish and coral. They didn't want any fish on the cake -- an unusual request for an ocean themed cake -- and Rick honored their request by putting the focus on their favorite marine life animals. Each dimensional piece was crafted and painted by hand. The beautiful red octopus was a prominent figure on the cake and looked amazingly lifelike. The groom has a tattoo of an octopus on his back and both the bride and groom love the ocean. This cake was perfect for them! Congratulations to Sarah and Daniel!

Aloha, 'til next time

Juli Turns 5

The under the sea theme, with or without a mermaid, is a popular option for kids birthday cakes, and each time we do one, Rick tries to create a design different than the others. Luckily, our clients are there to give us a little head-start in the custom design process. Some want more servings than others, some want to integrate their invitations, and some tell us for Rick to just go and work his magic. Such was the case with Juli's 5th birthday party. Her mother Aubrey told us she wanted a bright, unique, cake that would WOW her guests, and was open to any shape or design Rick wanted to make. She requested for the custom mermaid figure he made to have brown hair and brown eyes, like her daughter Juli. Aubrey did a great job carrying out the under the sea theme at her venue, with sea-themed balloons, stuffed animals, and a giant octopus canopy. Juli's cake was placed in the middle of the candy bar, on an irridescent tablecloth that worked beautifully with the cake, shimmering like the sea. Aubrey called us shortly after the party to say how much she and her guests were blown away by the cake and how it was everything she wanted. Our Chocolate Dream and Strawberries Chantilly flavors were a huge hit with the guests. We hope it was a day she and her own little mermaid Juli will never forget!

See Juli's under the sea cake along with many new cakes on cakelava.com soon!

Sophie, The Little Mermaid

When our clients brought their little girl Sophie into our studio, Rick and I fell in love with her. She had big, beautiful eyes and soft, brown hair with flecks of red in it. Sophie will be a heartbeaker when she grows up, but before then, she has many birthdays to celebrate. Over the weekend Sophie turned one and celebrated with an under the sea and mermaid themed birthday cake. Although the theme is a commonly requested one, we try and do it differently each time. It keeps things interesting and each cake unique. For Sophie's Strawberries Chantilly flavored cake, Rick drew inspiration from the invitations her parents provided to us. The cake shape was wonky as an unexpected twist and we kept the colors fun and bright. Happy Birthday Sophie!

Visit cakelava.com to see our full portfolio of custom cakes.

Under the Sea

We regularly receive requests for the "Under the Sea" theme cake. One such request came from our clients Rae and Keith, both scuba instructors, who wanted to honor their professions at their October wedding by having a beautiful underwater scene on their wedding cake. Their wedding took place at the beach, naturally, and they wanted to have their cake near the beach rather than at the reception which would later take place at a nearby hotel. Rick hand sculpted all the marine life shown on the cake and also made two custom scuba tank cake toppers with Rae and Keith's names shown nestled amidst the colorful marine scene. To keep the cake as vibrant and colorful on the inside as it was on the outside, the couple chose our ever-popular signature Rainbowlicious flavor to serve their guests. Thank you to Rae and Keith for including us in their special day!