Taryn and Sean's Dragon Wedding Cake

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Around this time of year, people ask if we are busy making Christmas cakes, and the answer is usually "no", which often comes as a surprise to them. The weekend before Christmas is busy, but not with holiday themed cakes because the wedding and birthday cake clients book those dates in advance, leaving no availability for holiday requests. The cakes made for last weekend were ordered in the Summer, within about two weeks of each other, and none had a Christmas theme.

The cake above was made for Taryn and Sean's wedding. This couple was a dream to work with! They were enthusiastic about the design process and we were excited about their design - a dragon cake - which Rick couldn't wait to make! It was something he and I would look forward to coming back to, after nearly a month of traveling. It wouldn't be the easiest cake to return home to, but certainly a satisfying one! Rick sculpted the dragon out of cake and had it climbing up the cake tiers. He used the couple's wedding colors of blues and silver, with accents of black and white.

The head of the dragon was the most difficult and time consuming part of the cake. It would be the focal point of the cake and Rick spent a good seven or eight hours just on the head between sculpting and painting it. It was very detailed and looked amazing in person! We couldn't wait to show it to Taryn and Sean. The delivery of the cake to their Waikiki hotel was quite memorable. The couple had arranged with us in advance to be photographed with them and the cake. When they entered the room, I saw their jaws drop upon seeing their cake and immediately rushed over to get a better view. They were beaming with excitement and told us how important this cake was to them. It is reactions like this that made all the hard work and time spent on making their dragon as perfect as possible, all worth it! We felt great the rest of the day. Congratulations to Taryn and Sean, and thank you for making our first weekend of cakes after a long trip completely worth the wait!

Ombre Wedding Cake in Shades of Lilac

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Our mouths dropped open when we saw our clients Lily and Leon's wedding cake photo taken by their photographer Eric from L'amour Photography. Everything about this wedding was stunning - the location at the Oceanfront Oasis Estate, the exquisite floral design by Yvonne Design , the gorgeous couple, and an ombre lilac cake that matched their colors and theme beautifully!

We have many wedding clients who book over a year in advance, but this bride came to us with far less time to design the cake. We had to work quickly, and she was so sweet, enthusiastic, and accommodating. She expressed her vision to us and gave us a range of lilacs to use on the cake. We presented her with an idea that Rick had, she loved it, and off we went! The oversize flower with its many delicate petals was handcrafted by Rick, and the cake had an all over shimmery tone. When we arrived at the site and the cake was placed on the lilac linen, we were impressed at how well the colors matched both the linen and the floral arrangements. Eric, the couple's photographer commented that it was "a perfect ombre", and that was great to hear! Even the bougainvillea on the grounds of the estate looked like they were placed there just for the wedding. Congratulations to Lily and Leon on their marriage, and to L'amour Photography for sharing the photo!

Shadow and Sonic and The Chaos Emeralds

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We have a special place in our hearts for clients who return repeatedly for their celebrations. Rick made a "Nightmare Before Christmas" themed cake for our client's son, a cake for her parent's anniversary, and this year, a Shadow and Sonic the hedgehog cake for her other son Hayden. We were asked to have the character Shadow on the cake, because it was Hayden's favorite, and also to include the "chaos" emeralds. As our client placed the order, I immediately thought "What are chaos emeralds"? I wasn't the only one because Rick turned to the internet to find out what they looked like in order to make them. Ah, diamonds! An internet search has saved us many times after we have said to the client, "Sure, no problem. We can do that!" Rick put both Shadow, the darker character and Sonic on the cake. They paired up well and added a nice contrast. We love the whimsical theme of Shadow and Sonic. Their world is full of color and translated well onto cake. It was the perfect canvas for Rick to let his creativity run wild and he made an eye-catching design that came to life as each hand made piece was placed. The flavor of the cake was Kona Toffee Crunch with chocolate cake. Caffeine, toffee pieces, chocolate, and a supercharged, colorful design. Now, that's our kind of cake!

EXTREME CAKEOVERS Book!

Having spent the past year and a half working on our book, EXTREME CAKEOVERS, it was truly exhilarating for Rick and I to see the cover design! He and I have had many discussions about the cover of our book, wondering which cake or cakes would be given the honor to be front and center, or would there even be a cake? As you can imagine, we have grown quite attached to all the cakes in the book and found it difficult to choose just one for the cover. As fate would have it, we didn't have to, because the decision was made for us. It was the Robot cake's lucky day - his chance to shine and show what he's made of, quite literally! When we saw the cover, we fell head over heels all over again with the cute little robot we spent so much time crafting and writing about, and were in awe with our book designer's brilliant composition that so perfectly captured what the book is about.

Although the robot cake is a perfect cover model, we are just as excited about the dozens of other cakes that Rick designed for the book and look forward to the day when we can share them with you! EXTREME CAKEOVERS will be released next Summer by Clarkson Potter (Crown Publishing/Random House). It has been a huge honor for us to work with our wonderful editor and publishing team at Clarkson Potter and feel blessed to have the opportunity to write such a fun book!