The Metro Area in Neon

Jessica strikes again! Someone who started as a friend of a friend has quickly moved from client, to colleague, to personal friend! She is so kind to think of me as various events pop onto her radar, but what I've really loved most are the conversations we get to have when we're planning cakes to fit various themes.

This time she was working with Capitol Romance to form a gathering of vendors.  Musicians, photographers, event planners, and other vendors were all in one spot to socialize and network. Because the actual event fell on a particularly busy night of work I was unable to attend, but what an honor to be invited!

I was given the parameters "VA/MD/DC" and "The owner loves neon!" when describing the people in charge of the event. You had me at neon.

My original idea of state shapes fell through once I realized how difficult Maryland would be to place on a cupcake and still look like Maryland.

 I kept the Virginia toppers, but experimented a bit to get the rest right.

Thanks Jessica for such a fun excuse to bake boldly!!

Redeeming My First Cake Certificate

Before Christmas I had a work friend inquire about a "Cakes by Casey Gift Certificate." It wasn't something I had considered until this point, but I loved the idea. She had taken some leftover cupcakes home to her boyfriend and his roommates earlier last fall and they were really into them. As a surprise for the roommate (for Christmas) she thought it would be fun to give him a gift certificate to have his own cake.

I whipped something up on publisher and we packaged it up with the flavor list and pricing guide. It wasn't long before I heard from him with a request. He wanted a traditional coconut cake, like they have in the south. I know all about these because my great aunt Lucy brings one each year for Christmas.  I've been dying to recreate it, partly because it's delicious, but also because it seems fun to roll an ENTIRE cake in coconut.

Although I didn't remember to take a picture until it was already packed up, the certificate and the cake were a huge success.  I'm excited to introduce to you the Cakes by Casey Gift Certificates. They're open for business!!

Fondant Lessons

Two of my crafty teacher friends (ok, one is the art teacher) have been asking me about how to use fondant.  They love to bake/craft/etc. so one afternoon they came over and I gave them lessons. I knew they'd be into it, but I was super thrilled with how the cakes turned out.

As a fee for entry (and the 5 pound tub of fondant) they had to bake and ice their own cake with a crumb coat.  We all picked different recipes, so when the cakes were sliced we swapped pieces. I definitely got the good end of the deal with a slice of grasshopper and a slice of tie-dyed cake in return.

Skills that were covered:
Rolling fondant
Wrapping a cake with fondant
Pulling color through
Cutting and shaping fondant
Storing fondant

See if you can tell who's is who. I'll go ahead and say my first fondant cake did NOT look like these!