Inspired by Betsey

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We apologize for our absence these past few weeks. Rick and I have been working long hours with cake orders and business as usual while simultaneously creating for and writing our book. We will be posting new cakes as time permits both on the blog and our Facebook page and hope you enjoy seeing some of our latest inspirations!

Rick designed the cake above as a surprise for a 21st birthday party. He was asked by our client to make a cake inspired by her daughter's favorite fashion designer, Betsey Johnson, known for her contrasting prints, sexy and wild clothing and accessories, and bold use of color.  The design was left up to Rick's wild imagination and he chose two animal prints in contrasting colors for the base, a checkerboard pattern for whimsy, and sexy hearts and lips. Lips are a recurring motif in many Betsey Johnson designs, including on her signature, and we both thought the lips would be a nice touch. Pulling it all together, Rick made a large handcrafted flower with gold detailing, and flirty ruffle on the bottom, giving the cake a touch of bling, and a sexy playful quality that any Betsey Johnson-adoring, 21-year old would go gaga over!

Roller Hockey Puck Cake

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Christina and Lee have been clients of ours since 2007, when Rick made their wedding cake. Since then, they have been returning to us for their special celebrations, each time with a fun and different theme. Their latest cake, a sculpted roller hockey puck with Lee's squadron patch, was ordered by Christina to honor a number of special celebrations -- Lee's return from a 9 month training on the mainland, a military rank promotion and his 28th Birthday.  When we were discussing a theme for the cake, she told us that Lee has played roller hockey for years and really wanted to get him a roller hockey puck cake. She thought it would be fun and different and perfect for someone who loved the sport so much. Rick sculpted the roller hockey puck out of our guava cake and painted Lee's squadron patch into the middle of the cake. The couple was very happy with the cake and it was a fun one for us to do. Welcome Home, Congratulations, and Happy 28th Birthday Lee!

Seahorses and Turtles Birthday Cake

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Ever since we moved to Hawaii, we've had a steady stream of ocean inspired and under the sea cake design requests, and I have to say that I never tire of seeing them.  We got the order for this latest ocean themed cake from a woman who was overseas at the time and returning to Hawaii to celebrate her and her husband's birthday.  Rick made all the pieces of the realistic ocean scene and limited the color palette to mostly shades of blue, cream, and white.  The coral pieces were made using a technique that Rick teaches in his class. They are versatile to work with and allow for many design possibilities. Happy Birthday to Rose and Brent!

Sculpted Castle Cake

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Last fall our client Laura began planning her amazing gift to present at her High School Reunion to Castle High School, in honor of their 50th Birthday in 2011. When she called us to discuss the cake design, she was very excited to hire Rick to make her a sculpted castle cake with a knight on a horse which is Castle High School's mascot. The school colors of maroon, white and gold would be included in the design as well as a "50" in honor of their milestone birthday celebration. Ever since the order was placed, we knew that Rick would have to set aside a significant amount of time to make the custom knight on a horse as well as sculpting the castle.

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Rick sculpted the castle out of cake and every part of it was edible, including the handcrafted knight on the horse. The only part wasn't edible was the structure needed for the figure.  To give an idea of scale of the cake, the custom knight on horse figure stood 15" tall. Adding the knight on the horse really added to the "WOW" factor of the design and after spending a couple of days working on the figure, it was all worth it when it was finished. The horse looked so realistic I wanted to reach out and pet it and the detail on the knight was incredible! We were extremely happy with the whole composition.  When we met Laura at the hotel where the reunion took place, she had such a strong emotional reaction to the piece that her eyes began welling up with tears. It was more than she had expected and was so proud to present her gift to her class and to her school. Seeing how happy she was made us feel even more proud of the piece and knew it went to the right home! Happy 50th Birthday to Castle High School, and thank you so much to our client Laura for her wonderful gift!