It started small.

But now I'm somewhat known for ambitious cakes.

Click on the thumbnail yadda yadda.

I think this was the first outlandish cake I ever really put effort into. I remembered back to junior high school home ec. We learned how to make a cake look like a cartoon bunny face, just by using two round cakes. So, over 10 years later, I did the same, using two 10 inch round cakes and some cardboard templates. The red frosting was only a thin layer on top of a thicker layer of untinted frosting. I used powdered pigments for intensity, and the TV screen was sprinkled with luster dust. It was a simple yellow cake, filled with strawberry jam and banana slices.

I didn't have a board big enough, and at the time didn't know where to buy one. So I wrapped a double layer of cardboard, scavenged from some packing boxes, with foil, and applied tinted frosting directly to the surface. Thus the ''grass'' and small bunches of frosting flowers. Since then, I've discovered the wonders of baking boards and polyfoil!

There were others before this, but I can't seem to find a picture of the one with the marzipan longevity symbol. Anyway, this was an attempt at making something that looked seasonal, and dressy enough for an autumn wedding. A friend of mine asked for a spice cake for her wedding dinner, and I obliged. A 10 inch cake again, the fruits are all marzipan, hand tinted by moi. Sadly, the marzipan turned out very hard. I should have just used pre-packaged stuff, rather than attempting to make my own.

;
These two are most recent. From August, 2003, they were a friend's bride's cake and groom's cake. The bride's cake was deep chocolate butter cake, moistened with chocolate liqueur, filled with strawberry preserves, and frosted with a cognac buttercream. The rose petals were spared from her flowers. The 14 inch bottom layer barely fit into the refrigerator. Top tier was a more manageable 10 inches.

The groom's cake was made to honor the Costa Rican flag, and comprised a yellow butter cake with the same strawberry preserves for the filling. The layers were moistened with Grand Marnier, and frosted with the same cognac buttercream. Then it was covered with a layer of very very pale green rolled fondant that had been flavored with green tea and orange flower water. The flag colors and stars were made with more rolled fondant, and paste pigment as necessary. The stars were lightly rubbed with an untinted pearly luster dust. It was also made in the 14 inch round pan. I cut a cake board into a template to trim the edges. It was a cheaper prospect than purchasing yet more pans!

That's it for now. I'll add more as they happen.