Solar System

We made this solar system with a foil background, orbits drawn in permanent marker, 4 sizes of cakes plus cupcakes, cookies for comets/moons, gumballs for tiny moons, bridge mix for asteroid belt, lots of fun sparkly frosting, colorful twizzlers for rings on the planets, etc.

Pirates

Canons on side of ship are lifesavers, with candy bar squares sticking out to be the doors that open to allow canon fire. The anchor is 2 molded starburst. The anchor chain is a candy necklace with the back half concealed under the cupcakes. The mast is 2 Milky Way bars. The sail is a Hersheys bar with one row removed (for the flag), wrapper left on. The skull/crossbones is more shaped starbursts. The canon balls were supposed to be whoppers, but are frosting blobs. :)

Treasure Chest

Allie and I used a square cake pan, baked about 2/3 or 3/4 of the batter the first time (to make the bottom) and the rest the second (for the lid). We frosted the bottom, then laid a sheet of wax paper on the frosting and piled the candy (candy necklaces and bracelets and ring pops) onto it, coming out the front and saving about 2-3 inches at the back to mount the lid. Then I cut a cardboard square to match the size of the lid, covered it with foil (like a chest liner) and frosted the cake lid on top of it. The cake lid held its weight on the candy...I didn't need to use anything else even though I had planned to use skewers to secure it. I used 5 brand gum sticks to make the brackets outside the chest.

Chess Cake

Double layer square cake, frosted with my favorite Betty Crocker chocolate and butter frostings (I scored the grid with a bread knife, then made the lines with frosting, then filled with squiggle lines, then used a wet knife to make the squares more smooth.). Then I washed some plastic chess pieces we have and arranged them into a named game (smothered mate...thought that was funny given that I was crashing Mike's work birthday lunch with the cake) and used the taken pieces on the words.

Graduation Cake

For Earl's graduation, Kristi and I made this double layer round cake. We used licorice (the kind you can pull apart for the cheeks, mouth, "hood", and tassle. The mortar board is a symphony bar and a mr. goodbar pasted together with chocolate frosting and cut with a hot knife to make it stand flat against the pan. The part on his forehead and all other details are frosting. The diploma is just rolled paper with a ribbon.

Slippery Cake

I have to admit this was an accident, but if you want to create the sliding effect of Merriweather's cake on Sleeping Beauty, just use frosting that's less stiff. This cake was a result of Esther's request for party beads, balloons, and candles.

Simple Pleasures

Esther wanted balloons, candles, and sprinkles. I didn't have any candles, but rectified that on a later cake...

Mount Olympus Cake

Michael's birthday theme was Greek Mythology. He requested a multi-layered cake. So we tried to recreate Mount Olympus using several sizes of round cakes, green frosting on the bottom for grass with cowtails cut up for trees and frosting flowers, a mini-marshmallow cloud cover partway up, a large marshmallow archway, and lego men that Michael made to specifically represent his favorite gods.

Harry Potter Wands

Yes, I realize this isn't a cake.

These were for a pack meeting with a magic them. Nutter Butters with white frosting on one end to be a wand tip and conversation hearts to represent dragon heartstrings, feathers drawn with icing for phoenix tail feathers, and an icing twirl for unicorn hair.

Panda Cake

This cake comes from page 86 of "Betty Crocker's Cake Decorating". I didn't have black frosting color...yikes. And my kids don't like coconut, which would have looked a lot better. Oh, well!

Mike LeBaron Day Cake

All I did for this cake was have the picture printed. Earl edited Mike's face onto Arnold's body, and Sam's Club bakery did the rest. But it's way too fun not to post!! Yeah, the ladies in the bakery barely held in their laughter when I dropped off the picture. But their reserve failed them as I walked away to the tune of their giggles.

Frankenstein

Another work potluck creation, this was done because I had totally forgotten about it until the last minut. So I improvised. Rice crispies, tootsie roll nose and mouth, sprinkles poured through rolled cardstock for eyes, Hershey squares for hair, and dum-dum suckers for ears. Should I be embarrassed that I have all the makings for this on hand when I forgot to plan something??

Valentine's Day Cake

This cake is a twist on a cake on page 21 of "Betty Crocker's Cake Decorating".
Mike's work had a contest for the most festive valentine treat. I did NOT win. :) But here it is anyway.

I used sprinkles poured into rolled cardstock to make the number circles and candy hearts for the middle. It is 2 round cakes frosted with my favorite white frosting (page 36 of "Betty Crocker's Cake Decorating").

Golden Plates Cake

I used the book idea from below, used yellow candy canes for the rings of the plates, and yellow writing frosting to make the imagined characters. We had this cake as part of our celebration when Michael and I read the Book of Mormon in less than a month.

School Carnival Cakes

I made these as books with the school's spring book fair theme on them. I made a 9x13, cut it in half, then cut one piece in half again (this time so that each piece was half as thick). I then put on of the 1/4 pieces on top of the 1/2 piece to make it taller and put the other 1/4 piece next to it to make the smaller portion of the book. I used Girl Scout samoas for the bookmark.

Caleb's Polar "Cake"

Penguins made with zingers, white frosting (tummies and attaching wings), yellow frosting (beaks and flippers), Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (broken in half for wings), and skittles. Igloos built from powdered sugar donuts. Snow that's powdered sugar.