Book Deal!

cookbook shelf at our local Barnes and Noble. 

 

We barely had time to catch our breath upon returning from Rick's Canada classes when we jumped head-first into our next project, working on a proposal for our first book!  Over the past two and a half months, in between our cake orders, we've been quietly nurturing this exciting and complex project.  Working with our awesome agents Holly and Allan of Hollan Publishing our manuscript was pitched and highly received by publishers and went to auction, which is every first-time author's dream! We still can't believe how quickly this is all happening and suddenly we've found ourselves writing our very own cake book! This has been one amazing experience, really more like a dream that we're still waking up from.  We are thrilled to announce that we have been signed by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing and owned by Random House!  They are super excited about our book and we can't wait to work them!  It was absolutely a dream come true for us to be a "Potter" author.  Clarkson Potter is the largest cookbook publisher in America and Random House is, well, no introduction necessary.  Potter has some of the most well-known chefs and culinary experts including Martha Stewart, Giada de Laurentis, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and Rachel Ray, to name a few, and we are honored to be amongst them.

For the rest of the year, in addition to our cake orders Rick and I will be working on our book, which is scheduled to be released in Spring 2013.  During this time we will do our best to accommodate cake requests but we are also on a deadline and suggest you book early if you are wanting a cake.  We can't divulge what our book's concept will be or other details but we are truly excited to write it, design the projects and work with our agents and editors.  We promise the book will be a lot of fun and we will keep everyone posted.  Thank you so much to those who have given us their support.  It means the world to us! 

Totally Groovy!

cakelava.com

Here at cakelava, we're definitely not afraid of color.  We embrace it, celebrate it and fortunately, get a good amount of requests for colorful cakes.  Rick designed this totally groovy 70's themed cake for a sweet young girl whose family are regular clients of ours.  They are one of the kindest families we know and Rick took the responsibility to make a special cake for their daughter seriously.  The cake was a celebration cake made for the girl and her friends as they kick off their summer and prepare for 6th grade.  We were asked for a fun cake in bright colors, for someone who loves pre-teen music and peace signs.  They gave Rick creative control and he really worked his magic on this one.  When I walked into our kitchen while he was working on the cake, I couldn't believe how colorful and fun this cake was, and the medley of colors really worked together.  We loved the writing for the cake "You Rocked 5th Grade!" She is one lucky girl.  What a fun kick-off to her summer, and ours!

Cute and Geeky Kids Cakes - A Winning Combination!

www.cakelava.com

If cakes had a "like" button, I would give this one a thumbs up and a LOVE! It turned out super cute and is one of my new favorite kid's cakes.  It's only the second time Rick made a Little Einsteins themed cake, and the first one was a sculpted rocket made a couple years ago and shown below. 

This cake brings together the cute and the geeky, always a winning combination!  The cute and geeky cake requests seem to run in our client's family, as their first child's birthday cake was a Super Why? theme, shown on our website.  Making kids cakes can be more time consuming than other types, but also rewarding as it allows us to grow with the family as they celebrate their birthdays.  We get to know the family over the years and look forward to our next cake together. 

When the order came in for the Little Einsteins cake, as usual, Rick didn't know exactly what he was going to do until shortly before the event.  I loved all the different textures on the cake and the sculpted rocket topper was adorable!  Everything on the cake was edible and made by Rick, and for the inside of the cake two tropical flavors were chosen, Broke da Mouth (mango) and Guava Lava.  Thank you to our clients for making us a big part, once again, of their special celebration!

www.cakelava.com

Elegant Parisian Birthday Cake

www.cakelava.com

Ahhh, Paris. If only I could experience Paris in the springtime once again!  It's one of my favorite cities in the world and it's been far too long since I had an opportunity to visit and take in its beauty, culture and amazing cuisine!  Over the weekend we delivered an elegant, Parisian themed birthday cake in soft shades of pink, white and grey, in honor of Tira's birthday.  The whole time Rick was working on the cake my mind took a stroll down memory lane as I recalled the month spent in Paris and the incredible sights and experiences I had.  As the beautiful handpainted Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) topper was placed on the cake, I recall standing at the base of the massive structure in awe as I looked up it.  For all the memories and opportunity to think about Paris, I have to thank our client Teresa.  She came to us with her vision of a stylish Parisian themed cake for her daughter, and left the design up to Rick.  Working with the soft, romantic colors of the party, Rick added a gorgeous damask print on the bottom tier of the cake, a romantic grey bow with a quilted tier on top, and pretty handcrafted pink roses.  It was lovely! 

When we arrived at the location, the cake looked perfectly at home with the rest of the decor.  In the center of the entrance to the party was a giant Eiffel Tower statue that someone had spent 4 hours assembling for the event.  There was a crepe station for guests to enjoy.  The room smelled of fragrant flowers and fruits.  We were impressed with their level of dedication to creating a fun, Parisian theme. Joyeux Anniversaire, Mademoiselle Tira!

At the time we arrived, the Eiffel Tower was still a work in progress

The cake was on a beautiful presentation table and was surrounded by flowers and fruits