Dress me in Red and put a hat on me... cake

I got my airbrush out for a treat with this cake. Possibly my most therapeutic cake yet. A cake designed for a sophisticated 20-something-year old. First airbrushed with voilet and finished with a coating of pink to create this bold  red/purple, and with a hint of glitter to help the quilted vintage diamond pattern shine. This top tier, with frill edges was inspired by a sun hat. Any excuse to use the airbrush!

Hope you had a fabulously sweeeet 2012

Monkey Business

It's Bananas!

From Motorbike... to Fire Truck Cake

I haven't been an active blogger over the past months, but here are a few pictures of cakes since summer 2012; so from Motorbike to Fire Truck Cake...

 

Birthday Cake for a 70-year old Harley-Davison fan. I enjoyed hand painting the motor bike on the cake, but left little room for mistakes.

My Little Red Fire Truck

Sweet Regards,

Priscilla

Drip Painting & Gold Cake

I’ve always thought of myself as a milder, (hopefully less annoying) Monica Bing, née Gellar. I take pleasure in cleaning (it is very therapeutic!), enjoy reading and baking. Baking is my hobby. And although I wish I had more time to bake, I look forward to baking treats. I look forward to trying new recipes; whether it’s making yummy mouth watering lemon sponge cake (personal favourite) or a nutty tart.

This is a cake I made for a girlie get-together.

I wanted a playful/ abstract element to the bottom tier of the cake; using Pollock as muse, I settled on this yellow/ green-brown drip painting.

The design concept for the top tier was taken from a feminine white and gold dress I fell in love with, finished with finest gold painted stud ‘buttons’. Top tier- Pink-coloured Vanilla sponge; bottom tier- Lemon flavour sponge.

This cake is my money, baby,

Bowed-Bronze Cake

Bronze.Bronze.Bronze.Bronze.Bronze. Bronze.Bronze.Bronze.Bronze.Bronze...

So, to finish off the month (and hopefully the beginning of summer & sun) was this Bronze Cake to tribute a Bronze themed 12^th birthday. The entire kitchen was covered in bronze shimmer and sparkles!

It was a race to make sure the cake didn’t look ‘in your face copper bling!’

We discussed a white bow to complete, and I suggested a bronze-tinted bow to soften the focal colour.

Happy Summer!

Very 1st Birthday Cake

Oooohh first birthdays are always very exciting for the family members, who have watched the little angel (or monkey) do everything for the 1^st time J

Cake!- A very first birthday cake is definitely an exciting part of the 1^st ‘everythings’. I went for a pretty and simple cake. I was happy with how tidy the fondant looked (no cracks- whoop!) and decided on a rounder shape, finished with pink flowers and the standing number (week's worth of gum paste drying- phew)

I really enjoyed making this cake. In their spare time, some people play golf, others swim, or take up piano lessons... I, am baker.

Spot of tea?

This simply delightful cake was for a spring birthday. I loved the bitter lemon and thought it best complimented the spring topped with a tea pot. The deeper shades reminded me of playful grass stains, and a cup of tea to cool off. I recently discovered on a vacation to the middle-east just how refreshing a hot cupper under the heat is!

I decided on 4.5” and 6” cakes instead of a single large 8” cake. The tiered cake gave the same 22 servings as a 8” would have, and tiered cakes allow for different flavouring for each cake; in addition to giving grandeur to cakes.

We do have another spring inspired cake coming in a few weeks. This time thinking of deep pink and pretty hand painted flowers.

**We’re due to enjoy a lovely scorcher of a week, ahead of the bank holiday**

With Love,
Priscilla

Candy Cake

This was a birthday cake for a little candy enthusiast- who loves candy all-year-round. The design could be adapted into a 2-tier cake for a grown-up candy fan. The Christmas connotations just makes them that much more cheerful.

I chose a simple white icing to display the colourful whirls. I appreciate they looks complicated, and they were fun to make!

This utterly remains me of the 1965 song I Want Candy by The Strangeloves. SING OUT LOUD NOW

Pretty in Pink

‘… and here’s one I made earlier’

This seems to be the phrase to best describe my cakes and blogging! I have been busy playing with fondant and sluggish on posting/ sharing ideas in cyber world.

This Pretty in Pink is a vanilla cake, topped with vanilla roses.

Chocolate Hydrangea Cake

I'm not much a chocoholic, but I appreciated the luring nature of chocolate whilst composing this cake!

Hydrangea is just stunning clusters of flowers and I wanted to incorporate these into a chocolate design. Thus, chocolate Hydrangea emerged as appropriate to cover over peach coloured fondant.

To receive positive feedback makes all the possible pressures of creating completely worth while J

“The birthday cake was amazing and very delicious too.  It was so beautiful with the individual chocolate leaves.  They must have taken ages to create?!

When the birthday cake came out with the candles on at the restaurant everyone commented on how gorgeous it was.”

Maclellanara Pagan 'Love Song' Inspired Cupcakes

I came across the striking Maclellanara Pagan 'Love Song' when I was researching on flowers to inspire a sort of gum paste ‘spring flowers collection’. These lovely 'Love Song' certainly got a few oohs and aahs from me. And so I was able to incorporate the aesthetics to these birthday cupcakes for an orchid enthusiast.

Cupcakes & Flowers

And here are the spring-sunshine selection

Flavours;

Sunflower Lemon

Black flower Lemon & Poppy Seeds

Gerbera Orange

Charming Cherry

Terra-cotta Chilli Plant Cake

I was recently invited to a flat-warming party and the theme was sweet and simply a dessert party. My informant advised the host enjoys reading and takes pleasure in having a few house plants potted around.

So as ‘just desserts’ was the theme, I thought of a crafty inspiration which would be right up my alley. I have always fancied making a terra-cotta / ‘baked earth’ cake. I was able to turn this fancy into a reality by trying my hands at cake pottery. Whilst doing a quick research on terra-cotta pots, I was surprised to find there were other colours available other than brick-red, so I settled on a contemporary brown terra-cotta rim pot. I also wanted the coarse texture of the terra-cotta to show through (and I hope it does).

To add spice of life, I settled on a dwarf chilli plant, typically, Prairie Fire Chilli, from the nightshade family (Solanaceae). I actually found that chilli also had many different colours, including violet, so I wanted to incorporate such beautiful colours into my design.

The cake disguised as the terra-cotta, was lemon flavoured. This was the final result;

Hopefully in the future I'll have the opportunity to make a terra-cotta 'pot of gold' cake :)

Kente Cake- Mother's Day

I thought long and hard about what cake design would best reflect this Mothering Sunday. I deeply wanted something unique and I sought for inspiration and colours which would personify 'Mum'.

When I went to Ghana last year, my lovely and dearest grandma aka ol' lady, gave me Kente cloth. Kenta is the most valuable Ghanaian cloth made using a mixture of silk and cotton, which is interwoven to create beautiful patterned-fabric. This is the principle cloth worn by the Ashanti King, see link http://www.flickr.com/photos/imknowmadic2/4152906405/in/set-72157622921000430

The colours of course do have their symbolic meaning and that's how I developed the 'Kente Cake'.

These are my favourite Kente colours;

Maroon – colour of mother earth, healing

Yellow/ gold – wealth, fertility

Blue – love and harmony

Green – growth

Black – maturity

White – joy, serenity

So, this is to all mothers out there, especially those who've become mothers for the first time this year. Enjoy the adventures of motherhood - I'll join you someday.

So mothers, as well as a cloth-inspired cake I'm spoiling you rotten with a present with a bow on it.

Names, Names and... eureka!!

I actually thought choosing the ‘right’ name for my business would be easy-peasy. But, I was soon introduced to the world of business naming! I found myself turning to friends and family for ideas. A few ideas were suggested, some frustratingly comical (and branching on offensive); Priscilla’s Buns, Priscilla Cake-a-nator!

Ultimately, I wanted to create the right impression with the name. Thankfully, I have a unique first name (thank you Mum & Dad) with the exception of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (‘Priscilla Queen of the Desserts’ was also a business name that was suggested) & Priscilla Presley, the name is relatively unfamiliar.

Eureka!!

I set myself a deadline to finalise the business name and after weeks of cold sleepless nights (kidding), we settled on;

Priscilla

Beautiful Cakes

And I hope the clients will appreciate and enjoy the name as much as I love saying it!

So with that sorted we made a few LOGO sketches and finally settled on this delectable supreme…

Sweet regards J

The one other thing I love about offering cakes as presents is that I can ensure it will be unique, with the person in mind.

Anyway, I made this simple (and I would hope elegant) Ivory birthday cake for a lovely friend (also one of the nicest people I know!). I used the ridged cone & mini ball modelling tool as aid for the flowers. After a few hours, the cake was covered with Ivory flowers and piped designs using nozzles 3, 4 & 61.

UnfortunatelyI didn’t have my camera in hand at that time, so used the phone camera.

Hope it’s clear enough.

This design will be adapted for a 3-tier fleur wedding cake I've been asked to create later on in the year. I hope to add the wedding cake sketch closer to the date! Very excited :)

Blue Baby Bear Cake

For this cake, I used the idea of patterned fabrics i.e. quilted fabrics, cotton sheets. I sought to convey the sentiment that after birth, babies are wrapped in cotton wool, kept safe & warm.
And of course every baby needs a teddy :)

Race Car Cake

After baking christmas, birthday cakes etc (as gifts) for friends and family, through word of mouth I got my first commissioned cake; to make a cake for a 2 year old boy, I did have a few weeks to prepare ideas. I orignally thought of making a cake with a blue ribbon at the base and a large rainbow going across the top of the cake, but I was later informed he loves cars! So I created this race car set for him. (unfortunately the picture quality isn't great)

The cake was much bigger than the family expected, with a total serving of 50-55. I did get carried away I guess.
It was a pleasure to hear that the family loved the whole cake & design so much so that they couldn't cut into it. But of course they did and loved it :)
That was a great feeling!

I received some (much better quality) pictures from the 2-year old's mum. Thought I'd share a few;

Quick Start- cupcakes

I have been baking since I was about 11 years old. I realised how relaxing it can be! And of course fresh, home-made cakes are simply yummy!

I have developed my skills from simply baking, to creating designs and decorating. I try to be unique, simple and artistic. After all, simplicity is best.
Hope you enjoy my blog, as much as I will writing it. Hope the blog gives you ideas for your own home cake designs.


sweet regards
x