Pretty in Blue Cookies

My good friend Martilda is expecting her sweet baby boy next month. Of course we needed blue cookies for her baby shower! Blue is also Martilda's favorite color!

For the large cookie, I used a small salad plate as a guide to cut out a big circle of dough. I only added a couple of minutes to the baking time. The night before the baby shower, I used glacé icing to flood the cookie with white. The next day, once the icing was set, I used royal icing to pipe the words and to make the brush embroidery flowers. 

I love the bright white of the royal icing against the soft white of the glacé icing.

The polka dot cookies were decorated using the wet on wet technique with glacé icing.

I decorated these cookies with tiny roses using a similar technique. I love using glacé icing for cookies because it sets well, but doesn't get rock hard like royal icing.

Congratulations, Martilda! I can't wait to meet your sweet new baby!

STATS:

No Fail Sugar Cookies

http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/2055/no-fail-sugar-cookies

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-roll-out-cookies-240668

Glacé Icing

http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

Royal Icing

http://www.marthastewart.com/316888/royal-icing-for-sugar-cookies

Brush Embroidery Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqbDTaauGO0

"Wet on Wet" Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAIBpsXgtRE

Sweet Ambs Tiny Flowers Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUD4BGWNpsc

Happy Birthday, Aubree!

Aubree's mom, Lindsay, requested a candy themed cake for Aubree's first birthday party. Lindsay had so many great ideas, and I really had fun going over cake designs with her. 

The (nearly) completed cake.

Here it is with the little smash cake...

...and here they are at the party. I waited until I set up the cakes at the venue before I added the fondant lollipops. I didn't want to risk travelling with them attached to the cake.

I LOVE how Lindsay decorated this table - that sign is seriously cool!

The party was held in an indoor bounce area. I was really worried that the weight of the lollipops - along with the expected bounce turbulence - would cause the lollipop sticks to pull through the cake. I asked for advice on how to prevent this problem on a cake forum, and (thankfully!) a talented cake decorator came to my rescue. Her name is Kara Buntin (owner of A Cake to Remember in Richmond, VA). She even made a video that was a great help to me.

Brilliant, right? Thank you, Ms. Buntin! 

You can check out her amazing work here: http://www.acaketoremember.com/.

I ended up using cardboard covered with foil, and it worked beautifully. Once the fondant ball border was in place, you couldn't see the support at all.

I used gold luster dust mixed with a little water to "paint" Aubree's name (piped with royal icing).

A closeup of the large bow:

The small bow:

The cake board:

We took extra care designing the inside of the cakes, too. The smash cake had pink layers inside, and the large cake had colorful polka dots baked into it. I don't have pictures of the cakes once they were cut, but I promise they were cute. :)

STATS:

How to Make a Striped Fondant Bow

http://bronniebakes.com/2011/09/21/how-to-make-a-striped-fondant-bow/

How to Make a Polka Dot Cake

http://once-upon-a-pedestal.blogspot.com/2012/05/polka-dot-cake-from-bake-pop-pan.html

How to Cover a Cake Board with Fondant

http://cakejournal.com/tutorials/how-to-cover-a-cake-board-with-rolled-fondant/

Pink Polka Dot Baby Shower

I made a black cherry filling for the inside. Whenever you use a filling, you'll need a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. The dam prevents the filling from leaking out the sides of the cake.



I used fondant mixed with modeling chocolate for the bow. This helped the bow dry faster, so it would keep its shape.



Here's a closeup of the bow. I used a Wilton embossing tool to decorate the bow.



The fondant gift tag:



All done! Congratulations, Lindsay!



STATS:

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Modeling Chocolate Tutorial
http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-modeling-chocolate.html