Wolfner Library 80th Anniversary Cake

Fun stuff.  This cake was made in honor of 80 years of Wolfner Library history.  Since the first audiobook medium we circulated was in record form, I made a version of the portable record player that was at one time issued to Wolfner Library patrons.  This three layer cake ( carved from three half sheet cakes) features a simple American style vanilla buttercream filling and crumb coat.  The sides and top are covered in marshmallow fondant.  For the wood grain look, two batches of fondant were flavored and colored with varying amounts of sifted cocoa powder, then marbled together.  Metal details are fondant brushed with gold dust.  The knobs are Rolo candies.  The record is one bag of 12 oz dark chocolate candy melts molded in a 10 in round cake pan.  The pin in the center of the record is a small slice of soft black licorice.  The tone arm is a pretzel rod with chocolate marshmallow fondant details and propped up on a black soft licorice piece.  The lid is made of chocolate plastic--dark chocolate candy melts and light corn syrup.  My husband Michael designed the vintage record label and had it printed and laminated at Kinkos.

Louis' Birthday

Fun times over the labor day weekend.  My mother baked the cake ("funfetti," as requested by the birthday boy), I decorated it.  I manufactured a fair amount of fondant, then set to work making sushi "cakes" with a wad of fondant hand-shaped into an oversized rice cake.  I rolled the cakes in chopped up marshmallows (to simulate the rice), then topped them with colored bits of fondant made to simulate salmon, tuna, egg, and fish eggs.  The seaweed wraps were of fondant as well.  I set actual chopsticks on the cake and added a little plastic cup with chocolate syrup to simulate soy sauce.  And yes, the wasabi and pickled ginger were made of fondant as well.  Louis was pleased.  That's what I always aim for.

Wolfner Library's 10th Anniversary of the Recording Booth

Well, this was fun.  I made everything out of either chocolate plastic (melted candies and/or chocolate plus corn syrup) or fondant.  I had just purchased one of those cake markers in black, so I used it for all the lettering and lines.  Folks were impressed.  Maybe you can't tell from the photo, but this was basically a full sheet cake, rendered in two layers.  The top layer was angled to simulate the mixing board.  Oh, and the wires were made out of black licorice whips.  You wouldn't believe how many places I had to go to find that stuff.  I finally ended up at the candy shop here at our local mall.

Cakes for the recently retired...

Seems like I keep running off my bosses.  I'm sure they are taking on these life-changing events without any prompting from me, but it feels odd to see my former boss and current boss retire in the space of three months in a single year.  I can't but help feeling a touch abandoned.  I will miss them both.  They were very different people, but they were both very important to me.

The first retiree, Susan, is a garden enthusiast.  I took advantage of the fact that it was early spring and did pansies and violets on her cake.  The photos are blurry, sorry.

The little terracotta pots are actually fondant covered cupcakes.  The cake itself was a dark chocolate fudge.  I used a Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix and added some extra dark chocolate cocoa powder.  In between the layers, I slathered on some seedless raspberry jam.  These flavors were well-received.

The second cake was Richard's.  Up until yesterday, he was my "current" boss.  I made his to look like one of the talking book machines that we distribute to our patrons.  The cake was a traditional yellow, but I wanted to simulate a strawberry shortcake, so I spooned strawberry jam between the layers.  I may be exaggerating, but I think Richard was thrilled.

Additionally, I made two dozen Braille cupcakes which spelled NLS.  One of the attendees happened to be blind, and experienced in reading Braille.  She got a cupcake and ran her fingers over it, she was actually able to read it, which was very cool.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

At the state library, we are experiencing lots of bittersweet endings and new beginnings.  Recent layoffs have separated a lot of old friends.  Still, we find things to celebrate.  And one of the nicest pieces of news is that our colleague is having a baby.  I made this cake in honor of her new beginning and in honor of all she means to us.  Since this is their first child, it seems the librarians felt that a book theme was most appropriate (she received lots of books).  The Very Hungry Caterpillar holds a special place in many of our hearts and what could be more sweet and comforting at this time than a cake that emulates the beautiful artwork of Eric Carle?

To get the painterly collage look, I rolled out homemade marshmallow fondant, treated it like a canvas and loaded up my paintbrush with a rainbow of Wilton gel colors, thinned slightly with vanilla vodka.  The green canvas was huge and featured a gradient of green, blue-green, and yellow-green.  I then cut out strips and arranged them on my caterpillar.  The body of the caterpillar is made of lemon pound cake which I'd baked in a bundt pan.  I cut the ring of cake into segments and rearranged them to get this shape.  The segments were glued together and smoothed out with a generous amount of American butter cream frosting.  Since Carle uses collage in his work, so did I.  I think it did emulate the effect fairly well.  I did the same for all the little treats that the caterpillar snacked on through the week.

 

The cupcakes were a lemon yellow cake, frosted in the same butter cream and topped with the little fondant treats.  The little holes were created by pushing the end of a drinking straw through each shape.  I hand sculpted little feet out of brown-tinted fondant.

My former colleagues were surprised to learn that this was a homemade cake, so I suppose it speaks well of the job I did.  One gal brought her little boy and he was absolutely fascinated with the cake and the little cupcakes.  I was particularly pleased by his sense of wonder.  I think that is always what I hope for when I create a cake.  It's really the best feeling ever.