Pinterest!

About a year and a half ago I started my love affair with pinterest. I go through phases where I use it TONS, and then forget about it for a while. (Those who've used it know what I mean.) I've always been a big fan of Google Images, but Pinterest stores it all in one craft-addicted place.  It's been such a treat to see what the rest of the cake world is up to!

As I become more tech savvy I like to put my cake pictures in various places.  One place is my facebook page, but pinterest is the best by far: one stop shopping!

Check out my pinterest page appropriately titled "Cakes by Casey."  It's a fun archive of the old stuff.

Happy Tuesday!

The Cake of All Cakes... (at least in my opinion)

We were SO excited to get our flash drive of digital pictures the other day! Our amazing, fantastic, better than the rest photographer Rebekah Hoyt  lives right around the corner so our photos were not only posted on her website, but also hand delivered in the same weekend. What a bonus!

I'm very proud to share one of the most special cakes- my own wedding cake! Jared and I put on quite the search for this cake. In as few words as possible...

1. Decided that Roanoke was too small of a town to produce great cake bakers. (don't worry....I come around.)
2. Contacted and Visited several bakers in the DC area.
3. Tasted a few DC cakes that left us feeling disappointed, and mostly just poor. ($10 a slice?! Who would pay that??)
4. Extended our search to Richmond, Charlottesville, even Harrisonburg.
4a. Went so far as to ask our friends to drive the cake for us so we could skip the delivery charge (Thanks for offering great friends of ours!)
5. Felt leaving a bit happier, but still poor. (Closer to $4 a slice, with a $150 delivery charge).
6. Decided to just listen to my mom like I should have from the start... and went with a Roanoke baker.

Cake Maker Linda Adams of Botetourt had a really impressive resume, and delicious cake to sample. She had previously done a lot of floral designs, so we were hoping our fondant details wouldn't stretch her too far out of her box.  We had a very specific picture in mind from pinterest (where else?) and she delivered!

Pinterest Version

Linda Adams Version
(all that's missing is our "t" topper... photographed later once it was added) 

She also came with a really impressive bonus: she bakes for a hobby and the cake was closer to $2 per slice, with no delivery charge. WIN!

We were so happy with the way it turned out, and we're thrilled to have it nestled away in our freezer for another 11 months.

We also had the honor to serve bubble cake cupcakes as our favors. I made the mistake of forgetting to take pictures before I put them in the boxes. Luckily Rebekah captured the vanilla/vanilla, but the other boxes had the most obscene cupcake I've ever seen. I've been hard at work in the kitchen to recreate things... we're talking brownie with chocolate and brownie ON TOP.  It was rumored that these were being used for bribes throughout the night... I totally get it...there's not a lot I wouldn't do for another palm beach brownie cupcake.

Vanilla/Vanilla

Bubble Cake Cupcakes

Thank you to all of our amazing vendors! What a fun opportunity it was to be on the other side of the transaction this time!

Things are a' changing!

New names are exciting, but it's been a blur to connect my social/professional/and cake life.  Hang tight as I link it all up... email addresses and other documentations are coming!

As for now, take a look at this tidbit- my new facebook page!

www.facebook.com/cakesbycaseytaylor

If you're a blog follower, or just a friend of the business be sure to like it! It'll be fun and easy to share cake moments from this point on, especially if I have a few locations to do it. 

Enjoy, and be on the lookout for other big changes to come. 

My New Favorite Tool: The Stamp

For over a year I've looked forward to Moira and Graham's wedding. When we first sat down to chat about their cake and cupcakes they gave me the reigns on the design ideas (pun intended since Moira loves horses and it was an equestrian themed wedding). Graham does graphic design for a living and is fantastic at generating and formatting ideas.  It was such an honor to have the green light from this couple! Throughout the year of planning they sent pictures and tools my way, and I've now uncovered one of my new favorite techniques!! Moira ordered this stamp especially for her cupcakes, and it was much deeper than most. I'm excited to try out different stamps and see what results they yield. 

Pictures from the wedding will be posted soon, but for now- enjoy this look at the fondant stamp. 

Step 1: Roll out the fondant to about 1/4" in thickness. This is much thicker than I usually roll it to cover a cake or to use for typical cupcake toppers. 

Step 2: Use a cookie cutter to shape the toppers. I chose a circle cutter that's a bit bigger than an inch in diameter. This is the circle I often use for cupcakes. 

Step 3: Line up the stamp to the center of the fondant coin and press lightly. I had to peel it back a few times, but for the most part it popped right off. 

Step 4: Top the cupcake! I let my coins dry for a few days so they were hard enough to hold their imprint. Then I topped the cupcake while the frosting was still soft. 

I've been featured!

So many things have happened since my last blog! I've become a Mrs., survived hurricane Sandy twice, and endured a busy busy week at school.  I've got a long list of things that make me happy in cake world, so it seems like a fitting time to get back on the blog.

One of my new favorite people Jessica Maskell came to me after her own wedding with a proposition. (I suppose my cupcakes passed the test, and she was ready to take our cake relationship to the next step!) She is a wedding guru and works in the DC area to promote vendors.  This fall she put together a wedding shoot with some of the people she's worked with in the past, and asked me to represent the baking end! I was so excited by her vision and sneak peak photo looks amazing. 

I'm so honored to be featured with other DC greats, and looking forward to seeing more pictures.