Howdya do, my name is Carrot cake.  I am an ever moist, carrot and cinnamon spice cake who is a bit more dense than my other sponge cake counterparts.  This makes me perfect for sculpted and topsy-turvy designs which require more stability in a cake.  I am perfect for any fall festivity but can be enjoyed year round.  Cinnamon Italian meringue buttercream divide my four layers of cake heaven making me a melt in your mouth delight.

My original recipe includes morsels of chopped walnuts for added fun.  But if you’re not akin to nuts they may be removed upon request.

Hello, my name is German chocolate cake.  I am an insanely chocolatey delight.

A slice of me consists of four layers of super moist chocolate cake separated by layers of creamy chocolate Italian meringue buttercream.  My mid section is undoubtedly the most delicious part as it is filled with a carmel-like custard mixed with toasted coconut and toasted pecans.

These are simply my insides.  I can be covered in even more chocolate buttercream if you’re a die-hard chocolate lover.  I am also quite delicious covered in vanilla buttercream and wrapped in Amanda’s homemade marshmallow fondant.

And yes, I a really am as delicious as I look.

For their 50th Anniversary celebration Methods Machine Tools in Sudbury contacted us to create a replica of their 50yr old building.  It was such a fun cake to create and decorate for Christmas.  When we delivered the cake there wasn’t any snow on the ground but after this weekend’s blizzard this may now be a more accurate depiction.

The funny thing about making and delivering these cakes is that we had become so, utterly familiar with each building that when we showed up to the actual building to deliver the cake we felt as though we were entering the world of the cake.  As we drove in the driveway and parked in that parking spot right there, and walked through the front door (which I had created earlier), it felt as though we were entering a make-believe land.  Or at least like deja vous, as if we had already been there : )

This cake was for a 5th anniversary for Briarwood Healthcare Nursing Center in Needham, MA.  Supposedly there are 3 guys who always hang out in front of the building, when the weather is nice, so we re-created them as well.

Earlier in the school year I was contacted by Kathy’s Place Youth Center who asked me if I would be interested in teaching a group of middle schoolers the ways of cake decorating.  Of course I said yes.  The class consisted of a small group of 6th and 7th graders from Winthrop’s Memorial middle school who were part of the 21st Century after school program.  For the first 2 months we met once a week learning the basics of baking and frosting.  The finale cake was made to be displayed at the Hoiday Fair on Dec 10th and then enjoyed by the teachers at their meeting later in the day.

Earlier in the semester the kids sketched out their holiday cake design ideas and then two separate groups presented their designs to the principal and vice principal (as if they were the clients), who would choose the final cake to be made.  The final week of the course the group of 7 kids baked, frosted, and decorated this cake totally from scratch.  I assisted and directed the kids but the design is totally their creation.  The kids were all very proud of their cake and were surprised they could create something ’so cool’.

Here is a front view of the cake as it was displayed to the entire school along with a poster displaying pictures of the kids in action. (in addition to leaving smiling cookies for Santa they left a carrot for the reindeer)

Here is a photo of the back of the cake.  Noticed how they managed to include the latest vampire craze into the cake. : )  The made a Twilight book to go on the toy train.  They also all signed their names at the bottom of the cake.  Awesome job guys, I look forward to the next class!

Luckily there appears to be a chance of snow in Boston this weekend.  In the spirit of dreaming of a white Christmas I designed this particular snowflake cake.  All the snowflakes are edible.

This cake was on display at Des Rosiers Design for the Charlestown Holdiay Stroll.  Lynn Kimmel of Des Rosiers Design does amazing work.  She specializes in window treatments and has fabric samples galore. Definitely contact her if your home is in need of some sprucing up for the holidays and the new year.

Sure it looks weddingy but this design could be for any wintery occasion.  Gotta love snowflakes!

***Contest has ended and we have a happy winner!***
Stay tuned for updates and blog posts on the finished cake.

This Spring/Summer 2010 Amanda Oakleaf Cakes of Boston, MA is giving away a freakin’ awesome, life-size storm trooper cake replica!  Full details below the fold.

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Our cakes are featured in the 2010 Spring/Summer issue of Boston Weddings Magazine.

Here’s our first wedding cake featured.

And here is the second wedding cake they featured.

Photos by Keller + Keller. Styling by Jojo Goto/ENNIS. (Taken from Boston Wedding Mag Spring/Summer 2010)

I design and create alot of cakes for baby showers and first birthdays.  It’s a big exciting moment in life that requires nothing less than a big exciting cake to celebrate.

Cake for a safari themed baby shower.  Baby animals are totally edible, made from fondant/gumpaste.

A view from the back of the safari baby animals cake.

Twin boys’ first birthday cake along with two matching ’smash’ cakes.  The theme/decoration of the party was red and blue, and Elmo and Cookie Monster.

C is for Cookie, yum yum yum.  A close up of Elmo and Cookie Monster figurines made totally from sugar.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake for a little boy turning one whose party was everything Disney, especially Mickey Mouse.  The Clubhouse topper is made entirely from rice crispie treats covered in fondant.

Barney themed 1st birthday cake.  The cake is a simple vanilla cake with vanilla meringue buttercream.  The figurines are made fondant/gumpaste mix as is the Baby Bob bow at the base of the cake.

This 3-tiered cake was for a Cat in the Hat themed 1st birthday party.  From the base to the top of the candle this cake stood almost 2 feet high.  All decorations are edible.  An extra cool detail about this cake was that the middle tier was red velvet cake with cream cheese buttercream filling so that when sliced it mimics the red and white striped hat.

2 shopping bag shaped cakes for a chic/modern mom themed baby shower.  Baby words decorate both bags filled with tissue paper.  The figurine of the mom is holding a cell phone, per request of her sister because she’s always on her cell phone.

A close up of the mom-to-be.

The baby boy on the top of this cake was inspired by the mom-to-be’s favorite Anne Geddes baby picture.  For the rest of the cake we took inspiration from her fabric samples both for the colors and other elements such as the rick rack, buttons, ribbon and the baby blanket on the top.

Many of the cakes for this weekend were for 50th and 60th surprise parties.

A surprise party cake for a woman named Betty who loves all things Betty Boop.  Her daughter ordered the cake with the idea that Betty Boop should look a little aged.  So we gave her gray hair, a cane, shawl, bifocals, and opps, her nylon stockings are slipping down.  When we arrived for delivery we saw they even had a red carpet rolled out for the birthday girl complete with velvet ropes and gold stars.

The cake was a perfect match for the party. Here’s a close up of aged Betty Boop.

The other surprise party was for my own mommy dearest.  I created a figurine of her complete with all the 50th birthday gag gifts.  Sadly I could not be there for the surprise so I mailed it to my sisters who baked and decorated the cake and added my decorations.  Mom loved it.  The best part was she actually got the 50 pin, cane, bifocals, whoopie cousin, as gifts at her party, all except the dentures.

A surprise cake for a banjo player turning 50.  The banjo is handmade from gumpaste with the cake design made to resemble an old bluegrass poster.

The cakes in this post are recreations of everything special about the birthday boy/girl.  I received a long list of specifications to meet for each of these cakes including everything from their looks to favorite clothes, to their mysterious inside jokes, and their personal spaces.

A guy ordered this cake for his wife’s birthday.  She owns a crafty, artsy, party planning business called Fabulous Fingers and is also big into designer fashion.  Sow we included all of these elements on this cake, although mostly the fashion.  Oh and her favorite color is orange.

A shot of the back of the cake.  She is also from London, hence the London bridge and Big Ben.

A close up of the figurine made to look like the birthday girl.

The decoration on this cake is  full of inside jokes, too many to get into but you get the idea.

A close up of Harvard student figurine with her brain cooking from her cookbook.

This cake was from a daughter to her mother thanking her for all her hard work.  I was asked to recreate her mother’s messy desk including a figurine of her in her chair.

Twins celebrating their 18th birthday were surprised by their mom with an edible replica of their game room.  These two boys have every game and gaming console you can think of.  Their dog is on the top along with many Starbucks cups, which they also love.  The best part was when I delivered this cake one of the boys immediately took a picture of it with his blue hand-held game thingy.  The exact one I put in his hands on the cake.  It was a perfect fit.

Airbrushed to emulate the colored lights on the dance floor this cake was made for a 25yr old having her party at a night club.  The sugar figurine is of her dancing and the high heel shoe on top has her name on it as if it was her personal brand.  Fun cake.

A close up of her personalized shoe.  An over-sized version of the ones she’s wearing on the cake.