Hawaii Big Island Cake

www.cakelava.com

 Today's blog post is dedicated to my brother and his family, who are travelling to the island of Hawaii (Big Island) today for vacation. It is the first time he has been back to the Big Island since he was a child and the first time for his wife and their children to experience this incredible place! The island of Hawaii has been a favorite of Rick's and mine since moving to Oahu and we are so happy that my brother, his wife and their kids have the opportunity to stay there.  

It's been almost two weeks since Rick made the sculpted Big Island of Hawaii 30th birthday cake, a surprise for our client's boyfriend who is from the Big Island, hence the "F.B.I" sign, an inside joke amongst his friends. Rick sculpted the island out of our peanut butter cake which had this wonderful nutty aroma that kept pulling me into the kitchen.  The cake was large, well suited for a "Big Island", and on the eastern side where the town of Hilo lies we placed a custom handcrafted figure of the birthday boy. His girlfriend explained to us that he has a prominent position at the company Groupon and would love to have the company logo on his laptop.  Rick and I would like to point out that the guest of honor was not naked underneath the Groupon laptop.  He was wearing board shorts in case you were wondering...

The figure is flashing the Hawaii hand gesture for "Hang Loose" known as the "shaka".  Rick painted his tattoos on his chest and arm.  We love all the custom elements on this cake.  It was delivered to Uncle Bo's Restaurant, a hip local bar and eatery near Waikiki and had a lot of heads turning when we brought in the cake to their private party room. Thank you to our client for giving us the opportunity to make this special cake and to virtually revisit one of our favorite places!

www.cakelava.com

Romantic Floral and Damask Wedding Cake

www.cakelava.com

Last week we announced two new locations where Rick would be teaching his "Discover Your Inner Artist" class - one in London and one in Pennsylvania.  If you are looking for information on either class, please refer to our "Classes" page on the blog. Having the new classses certainly added to the excitement here, and as students started signing up, we were also heavily focused on an elaborate three and a half foot handcrafted floral and damask print wedding cake for the weekend. Throughout last week, Rick worked on the flowers, shaping the tiers, painting the damask print and planning the delivery. This cake weighed a ton and took the strength of both of us to lift it.  Every tier was made of cake, except for the vase topper and did I mention it was heavy!

The cake looked absolutely gorgeous in person!  The royal and navy blue colors were a beautiful contrast with the white accents. The feminine hourglass shapes alternated with more traditional rounds and the unadorned tiers were complimented by the tiers with the damask print and romantic roses. We were greeted by the family and the groom and they thought the cake was beautiful and were excited for the bride to see it, as were we.  Congratulations to our couple!

2012 "Discover Your Inner Artist" Classes in the United States

Thank you to everyone who has contacted us inquiring about Rick's "Discover Your Inner Artist" cake classes in their region. We would love to come and visit all of you and have Rick teach in your location, but we have a tightly booked calendar in 2012.  Between working on our book, cakes, and already scheduled classes in a number of locations, Rick will not be booking classes at other U.S. cities in 2012 besides Allentown, Pennsylvania at the Mother of Cakes: Sugar and Cake Academy on September 13th, 14th and 15th, 2012. If you are able to commute to Allentown, we would love to meet you. The class has been announced over a year in advance to accommodate those needing to travel or save for the class. 

Spaces are still available for the newly announced "Discover Your Inner Artist" class in Allentown, PA and we will be posting updates on class availability on our facebook page.  Mother of Cakes is accepting payments in 4 installments for your convenience. Information on the class and more registration information can be found at: http://www.motherofcakes.net  

We hope to see you in September 2012!

"Discover Your Inner Artist" 2012 Class at Exotic Fantastic Cake Decorating School, London, UK!

cake image courtesy of Rachel Robertson Photography

It has truly been one Fantastic week and we are chuffed to bits! On Tuesday we announced that Rick would be teaching his very popular "Discover Your Inner Artist" class in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2012 at the brand new Mother of Cakes Sugar and Cake Academy, and within days we have another location for the class, this time crossing the pond into London, England at Exotic Fantastic Cake Decorating School!  It's coincidence that both classes were announced this week and it added much excitment to an already busy work week!

Our passports are getting a work out in 2012! First Canada in June to premiere "Discover Your Inner Artist 2" then over to London, England, right around the time of the Summer Olympics, then on to Pennsylvania.  It's thousands of miles each time and an unmeasurable number of opportunities to experience another place!

Now onto the details for the London class!  The dates will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 16th, 17th and 18th, 2012 at Exotic Fantastic Cake Decorating School in North East London. Yes, 2012, not 2011.  We will be staying put this year while we work on our book and client cakes. Rick will be teaching his signature hibiscus with bamboo and sculpted clownfish cakes shown above which he premiered in Canada in March 2011 in two classes.  The first Canada class sold out in 48 hours and the second one also sold quickly. Rick was promptly booked to return next June. In his "Discover Your Inner Artist" class, students will learn Rick's highly sought after art methods including sculpting, hand painting, airbrushing and other freehand art techniques without the use of molds, cutters or stencils. By the end of the class students will have learned how to tap into their inner artist and have two beautiful completed cakes.

We welcome students from all over Europe and beyond to take the course.  Exotic Fantastic Cake Decorating School is handling all registration and any travel related questions you may have in relation to the course.  Installment payments are an option. Our host has been awesome to work with and she is very excited to sponsor Rick as her first "celebrity" cake artist from the United States and we couldn't be happier!

To register, please follow this link on the Exotic Fantastic Cake Decorating School site. The class is already starting to fill up so book your spot today!  See you in London 2012!

In case you missed our links to class reviews posted by previous "Discover Your Inner Artist" (Canada 2011) students, we have included them again for your enjoyment!  Thanks once again to our awesome students for sharing your experiences with us and others wanting to take the course!

http://www.cakes-a-nonymous.com/2011/03/my-inner-artist-with-rick-reichart-from.html

http://sweetthings-toronto.blogspot.com/2011/03/cakelava-cake-designs.html

http://thesugarcove.blogspot.com/2011/03/discovering-your-inner-artist-with-rick.html

http://www.ayomacakes.com/ayomas-blog/hibiscus-cake-fish-cake-