My cakes!

[lainiepop]

Hi everyone, i've been making novelty cakes recently for friends and family, not charging tho! Thought i'd put some pics up and see what you think! This first one isn't my best but ive just had surgery and felt bit off yesterday, it's my daughter's 3rd birthday tomorrow, it a peppa pig ballerina cake, all pink as requested even the cake inside is pink! (not sure if you know peppa pig in USA?!). Her party is on saturday , having a winnie pooh one for that!

[lainiepop]

This one was a new baby cake for a friend i made a few weeks before surgery.

[lainiepop]

This is an easter cake and cupcakes, and a lemon cake for my mum's birthday

[lainiepop]

Here are some random kids party cakes from a while ago

[lainiepop]

Finally (as i know you're prob bored or hungry by now!) , these are cupcakes i'll do for elena's party on the weekend and all the winnie pooh toppers i have made already (plus min peppas and her friends for cupcakes but dont have a pic of them yet!)

Bear in mind i have never been artistic myself lol my mum laughs that i am doing this and this is all self taught by trial and error. I went to a class last week on flowers and am going to one saturday for frills on cake (i am making in-laws 40th anniversary cake in october!). I like making the fondant figures more than the cakes i think lol.

[cassandra]

Wow they are realy great!

     

[okarol]

Very nice!! 

[SooMK]

These are so cute. I can just imagine how excited little ones get over these cakes. Wonderful work. Did you have to buy a lot of specialty equipment to do these?

[lainiepop]

SooMK, Ive sort of collected stuff along the way, like little cutters when reduced and stuff. And hubby bought me a turntable for my birthday and it came with a whole set of modelling tools free which was a bargain (as the turntable was £10, the modelling tools can be up to £14 for a set. ) Tbh the man things i use are cocktail sticks for dipping in the food gel to dye the fondant whatever colour i want, a mini rolling pin, and  pizza cutter is fab for cutting fondant.

So my daughter turned 3 on Tuesday, the peppa cake tasted so yummy! Its her bbq party tomorrow and i have a cake class this afternoon so made all the cakes yesterday. So I just have to put the figures on her cake on the day but these are the party bag mini cakes ive made (for the party bags funnily enough lol, thought it was easier than trying to cut the cake and bag it up while people re leaving, but they were a right pain to do!!) The pig in red is peppa the girl pig and the blue on is her brother george (do u guys have peppa pig in america?!) And i put the child's initial on the front to personal it. I like them but they were so much work more so than a bigger cake cause all individual!

[lainiepop]

So i have now finished the peppa pig cupcakes to accompany the winnie the pooh cake, my little Lainey has already said she wants the one with peppa pig on lol. The creatures look weird, but that is how they look on the show, when i first watched it my son had to tell me which animals were which lol. The closeups are peppa and george pig, zoe zebra and pedro pony (i know looks nothing like a pony right?!), and zoe sheep (nothing like a sheep either!), danny dog and rebecca rabbit! She has a few more friends (emily elephan, candy cat!) but tbh i was fed up lol.

[Poppylicious]

I LOVE seeing your cakes on Facebook.  I genuinely think you should start a little cake business up!  I would definitely buy one.   

[galvo]

Any left over, please put in a box and send straight to Oz!

[Jean]

They are just darling!!! What an imagination you have!!! Hope this can become a full time money making business for you. Good luck.

[lainiepop]

Ah thank u all! I dunno about starting a business, i would kind of want to choose when i do it, not be constantly thinking i have this to make you know? I'm not going back to work when Elena starts school anyway, and as steve is a teacher he has the same long holidays as the kids which is nice, so i thought just doing it for friends and family and friends of friends if they ask, for a cheaper price than cake makers would normally charge. I know quite a few and am shocked by the amount they charge, I know its the time it takes, and if you're actually running it as a business and are dependent on the income it generates you need to charge that amount, it just seems so much when i reckon it cost about £5 if that to make the winnie the pooh cake, here are the pics, guests were all impressed, think it's my best one yet. Tasted very yummy too. The little kids elena's age all wanted the cupcakes with the mini figures and andrew and his friend had the cake with the grown ups. Unfortunately being the UK, it was gloriously sunny we sat down with our burgers and sausages off the bbq and it emptied down. Once we'd finished eating the sun came out and stayed out!!

[lainiepop]

Some more

[lainiepop]

I'm ll caked out now for a while lol. Altho i never an anniversary cake for me and hubby as its the day after elena's birthday! Maybe once this cake and its trimmings are all gone! Then all quiet til october then its hubby and sons birthday and im making a 40th wedding anniversary cake for in-laws (what i went to frill making class for!)

[Charlie B53]

Thanks, my blood sugar has just gone up 30 point just looking at these!

You have a natural gift, enjoy it well.  You cakes are superbly done and if marketed would fetch a very good price.

I'm not so hot ono the business idea as taking something you love and trying to set deadlines to get a number of them done takes a lot of the fun out of it, turning it into a drudge.

I like your idea of keeping your cakes reserved for family and friends.

You might consider taking on one paid project a month, and possibly take bids for your service.  Who knows, people can be willing to pay an exorbitant price for a very well done cake for a special one, or event.  This could give you the option of picking and choosing your project, rather than just whomever walks in or calls wanting a cake.

I am tickled that you are making the figures, they look perfect.  One couldn't buy any better anywhere ready-made.

Excellent work!

[goofball]

You are a PRO!

[lainiepop]

Aww thank u charlie and goofball!

I will stick to friends and family, why create stress when i dont need it and turn something that i enjoy into a deadline, especially with 2 kids to look after! My dd got a friend to make my son's christening cke, she said she'd just charge for ingredients but we felt bad as it was so lovely so gave her some extra. I don't think people would mind paying £10-£15 for one of my cakes, after all they could pay that in a supermarket and not have such a nice result or figures on top etc, but will see, at the moment I'm still recovering from my emergency bowel ressection almost 7 weeks ago (my bowel twisted around old scar tissue, they had to operate or it would have twisted off blood vessels and killed all organs!!) and my daughter won't start school til next year, she starts pre-school a couple mornings in september but the other days she does ballet and will start swimming lessons and i'd like a day where we have nothing on incase we just wanna go to the beach or just have a chill our day at home together before getting my son from school. I have enough going on right now, and throw in clinic visits and blood draws (ok only every 8-12 weeks am 2yrs post tx) its just something extra i dont wanna do. My idea is i'll teach the kids and they can open a cake shop together  and i can just help whenever i feel like it

Oh and i dont actually use tons of sugar in my cakes, i never use the amount the recipe says or if i weigh and use equal weights of flour, butter, egg i lessen the sugar as i feel with icing it sweeten it enough. Had no complaints! And the chocolate buttercream i didnt actually use icing sugar, i tried out a new recipe i'd seen where u basically melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan, fridge it till its solid then just whip it up, was really nice, actually could taste the chocolate as oppose to the sweetness of the icing sugar. I was dubious but it was good will definitely try it with white chocolate as it hubbys fave so i'll do that next. The birthday cake is nearly all gone lol!!

[Charlie B53]

U.S. TV has a show, Cake Boss, they make some pretty spectacular cakes for events.  But nost of the time they are simply for looks, on display, then tossed in the trash.

REAL cakes are made to be eaten!

Having wonderful decoration and edible figures that are tasty is definitely a plus in my book.

I admit, I like cake, but it is another one of those things that I have to be careful to only eat in moderation.

Continue to experiment with your creations, any time you can cut out sugars but keep the taste you will have a real winner.

Don't be afraid to submit some of your recipes to be included in local baking cookbooks.  But don't give away all your secrets either.

[lainiepop]

Charlie we love cake boss, although it gives my 6yr old son ides above what i am caplable of lol. Our fave episode is the one where they go to disneyworld for Sofia's birthday and he makes he a princess cake, my daughter just says, we go there, me do that mummy lol.

Im pretty fortunate in that i can eat what i want, in fact after th tx i was trying to gain weight and asked to see dietitian who put me on shakes til i hit target weight and she said to me you have low cholestrol and no problems with blood sugar, eats muffins, mars bars whatever for extra calories! But tbh when u make cakes a lot u get fed up of licking the bowl!!

[lainiepop]

So Andrew breaks up from school on wednesday so i made his teacher some cupcakes as a thank u gift. Hubbys school broke up friday so we now have a few days together with lil lady on our own which is pretty rare! In a week will make some 40th cupcakes for a friend and then some wedding ones for a gift for andrews godmother.

[Rerun]

You are very talented!

         

[okarol]

Very nice! 

[lainiepop]

My latest is cupcakes for a friend's 40th (delivered today) and we're going down to my parents tomorrow where i'll give the wedding ones to my friend getting married on wednesday. I really like these, i'm wondering if i could actually sell them?!

Next weekend is hubbys dads birthday and we're at their holiday home b the sea so im doing a beach theme cake, taking a few of my bits and bobs with me