Gone Fishin'!!

Welcome back to another fun and exciting week.  I have missed two weeks, but we have been busy creating all sorts of fun things in the kitchens.  We had a whirlwind of detailed groomscakes, special birthday cakes and very cute baby shower cakes.  So we will have many stories to tell.

Last weekend was the wedding of Jen and Ben, and they got married at the Inn at Kelly's Ford in Remington, Virginia.  It is a very quaint and picturesque venue and makes for great photos.  Jen wanted to surprise her soon-to-be husband with a spectacular groomscake with his all-time favorite hobby - bass fishing.  Her challenge to us was to create a bass boat using the colors of red, white and black   She supplied us with some photos of real bass boats and left the rest to us.  As for the flavor, she definitely wanted our mocha truffle filling, but the cake flavor was to be a surprise.  So we decided to make her the ultimate cake.  We alternated layers of vanilla and chocolate sponge cake and put plenty of our fantastic mocha truffle filling in between.  We then worked on carving the shape of the boat and tapered it down towards the bottom like a real boat.  Once the shape was ready, we covered the entire boat in vanilla buttercream icing.

As the cake was chilling out in the fridge and awaiting its fondant cover, we went to work on some details.  Everyone in the bakery was throwing out suggestions as to what they take with them fishing.  Who knew we had a bunch of fishermen and women in the kitchen?  The red and white life preserver was must, as were life jackets, anchor, oars, ropes, tackle box and two personalized beer cans!  There was a lot of fondant rolling and colors being made.  As those items were setting, we were ready to cover the cake in fondant.  We started with white fondant to cover the entire cake.  Once that layer was on, we marked and scored it to look like individual wood planks used to build a boat.  That was followed by a red painted plank as the top one and a red backside.  The interior of the boat was covered in black fondant to give it some depth and white benches were then added.  Now then fun began.  We added all the elements on to the cake, but needed it to look more realistic.  We rolled tiny little worms spilling out of the tackle box!  Then the entire board was covered in various shades of blue buttercream to mimic water.  We added candy rocks and green marsh, but it still needed something more.  After a few more minutes it finally came to us, we wanted to tie two wedding bells that said "JUST MARRIED" on the back, just like their getaway car for that evening.  As we were about to do that, an even better thought came into mind, we tied two fish to the back instead!  The bride completed the fun with her cake topper of the bride hooking her groom.

Don't forget to stop by either location to have some of our fantastic granola, jams and fun pasta.  We only have a few bags left of the Halloween pasta for your parties, so don't delay.  In the meantime, stop by for a complimentary cup of coffee when you purchase any of our new products.

Calling all Mouseketeers!

Well, spring has certainly come in our kitchen!  The communions and confirmations are just about done, college graduations are still in full swing and the weddings have definitely on a roll.  In the midst of it all, we still find time for some really fun cakes.  So here is another cake for everyone's inner child.

A client came in about a month ago looking for a cake to replicate a Mouseketeer hat for her husband's birthday.  They both love Disney and Mickey Mouse.  Her only request was that the hat be made of 100% cake, even the ears so that they would taste good.  We were up for the challenge.  We started off with our vanilla buttercake and loaded it with mini chocolate chips, then filled it with some delicious Bavarian cream.    Once that was set, we started to shape the cake into a dome, just like the Mickey Mouse hats.  Once the shape took form, we gave it a base coat of vanilla buttercream and let it cool down in the refrigerator.  As that was cooling, we made red fondant and started on the ears.  We cut small rounds for the ears and covered them in black fondant.  We then covered the hat portion of the cake in red fondant and attached the ears.  We then added the details with the yellow and black ovals, just like Mickey's pants, and a black ribbon trim around the bottom.  The front looked amazing, but the back looked a little plain.  So we decided to personalize the hat, just like you can do at Disney!  We "stitched" the birthday boy's name with some yellow and it just made the cake come to life.

So Happy Birthday Jeff, we hope you enjoyed reliving your childhood, even if it was only for one evening!  Through Friday, May 27 stop by the Centreville store and visit me for a complimentary chocolate chunk cookie - they are my downfall, but hey, someone has to try all the goods!  We will have a fabulous cake to talk about next week - think of Glee meets Chantilly High School Choral!

Graduation Time!

Welcome back and I hope you are all staying dry on this crazy wet day!  We have been making graduation cakes non-stop for the last two weeks.  I thought you would enjoy our latest cake we made for our regular customer, Jennifer.  She always has some fun ideas and cakes.  We have made her a margarita glass, Thomas the Train, bikini cake, and most recently, the Radford Highlander.

Her son just graduated from Radford University, and she was having a party down in Radford for him.  So she asked what could we make that would be fun and different.  We had her look at a few different graduation cakes for inspiration, and she decided that the Radford University mascot was in order.  She asked us to put the Highlander on top.  I hadn't seen him before, so she emailed a picture over.  Well, he looks like a rugged mountain man with a Scottish twist!  So we got to work.

We decided to use vanilla cake to sculpt the Highlander's face.  After some time, the face started to take shape and we covered it in fondant.  While the fondant was still soft, we added in the facial features and the high cheekbones.  The facial hair had us all.  On that Friday morning, the bakery was full of female decorators who have no facial hair.  One of our decorators started a 5:00 shadow look, so I had to explain that this was a mountain man, one who had not shaved for a few weeks, so make his beard a little fuller and his hair a little higher!  She then added his braid on the side.  We finished him off with a plaid headband and he looked fabulous!

We then started on the cake underneath.  Jennifer has a soft spot for our red velvet cake and chocolate devil's food, but her son leans towards the chocolate.  So we made the bottom cake devil's food with chocolate buttercream filling and vanilla buttercream icing, which would travel well for the 4-5 hour drive down to Radford.  We finished off the design with some RU logos on the side and some plaid stripes.  We placed the Highlander on top and added some graduation hat sprinkles along with the plaque to say Congratulations Travis.  I must say, we had a really great time with this cake.

Come out and brave the forecasted rainy week.  When you mention our blog through Friday, May 20, which happens to be my 11th wedding anniversary, join me for a complimentary cupcake!  Until next Tuesday, you can always visit us on Facebook or at http://www.cakesbyhappyeatery.com/.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

OK, we know Tuesday has passed so we are a day late, but we wanted to write about the fantastic cake we made for a client today.  The client came in to us on Saturday wanting a cake with red ruby slippers for a little movie her daughter loved named The Wizard of Oz!  Well, we are HUGE fans of the movie.  Victoria and I always seemed to catch this movie every year on television in December as we put up our Christmas tree.  Timing was always funny, it seemed that no matter when we bought the tree, early or late December every year, this movie happened to be on television the night we decorated the tree.  So we have very fond memories of The Wizard of Oz and the famous yellow brick road!

The client was not as familiar with the movie, but her daughter really wanted ruby red slippers.  So we told her not to worry, we would make her daughter proud.  We knew she had to have the yellow brick road on the cake and thought it would be fun to add in the grass and flowers all around, after all, Munchkinland is beautiful and colorful.  We also knew we had to craft the ruby slippers and flowers early so that they would have time to dry and set.  This morning, we came in to ice and decorate the cake and add some embellishments.  In order to create the yellow brick road, we took a sheet of yellow fondant and found a handy little brick impression to make it look authentic.  We then cut it and laid it down on the cake.  We piped green grass all around it and added in the sugar flowers and two large ones to write Happy Birthday Margaret for the special birthday girl.
We had a fun time making this cake today.  I just wish I could put up my Christmas tree tonight and watch it, but I may have to settle for some good a buttery popcorn, followed by a really big chocolate chunk cookie!  Well, we are off to create some more treats in the kitchen.  And when Victoria and I recuperate from the hundreds of cupcakes for cupcake weddings this weekend, I am sure we will have some more fun stories to share!  In the mean time, please visit us at either location for a complimentary cupcake in honor of our busy weekend through Friday, May 6.

Monster Truck!

Our good friend, Cindie Reinhold, the editor and publisher of Brides & Weddings of Northern Virginia, asked us to make a very special cake for her son Artie a few years back.  Artie’s birthday present from her was tickets to a Monster Truck Jam.  Cindie wanted to combine his newfound love of monster trucks and cake, so she came to us.

We all know that Artie loves our chocolate vegan cake (which tastes phenomenal) and mocha truffle, so those two flavors were a must.  We decided to make the cake in the shape of a monster truck, complete with big wheels and Artie driving at 13!  We started off with the chocolate vegan cake as the truck and added big mocha tires.  The truck was iced in green buttercream, one of his favorite colors.  We then rolled fondant with tire tread impressions to wrap around the mocha rolls.  We added in a few more finishing touches, like the custom license plates with his name and Brides & Weddings of Northern Virginia, then added writing around the truck.

We always have a fun time, and are looking for new projects and cakes to add to our portfolio.  So please let us know if we can help custom create a cake for your next party or event.  In the mean time, come visit us at either location and mention this blog for a free cupcake through Friday, April 22.  More photos can be viewed on our website, www.CakesbyHappyEatery.com.

Hey, Hokies!

Adventures of the Wu Girls at Cakes by Happy Eatery Post 2!

I am sure all you Hokie fans out there will enjoy this next blog.  Our
staff is like family, so when they need a cake, they let us have some fun!
 Last June one of our staff members graduated from Virginia Tech.  Jessica
is such a Hokie fan that she bought a VT-shaped cake pan for us to make
lots of graduation cakes.  So we couldn’t disappoint her for her big
graduation party.  She picked out the flavors and left the rest to us.

Now Victoria was holding down the Manassas kitchen for Jessica’s
graduation, and left the design up to me.  From my many years of living
with a big Hokie fan, my husband Ray, I knew the pressure was on to make a
fantastic cake.  I knew we had to make a cake in the VT pan Jessica gave
us, but what next??  Then it came to me, every Hokie knows their mascot,
so I decided to put on the Hokie bird with a graduation cap to mark this
occasion.

When I delivered the cake to the party and lifted the lid for Jessica, Ray
and Victoria, a big smile spread across their faces.  We were proud of our
Hokie graduate, and the one on the cake too!

Visit us next Tuesday for some more tales and good times.  Victoria should
be fully recovered from her jet lag after her trip to South Africa on
safari without any lion marks!  In the mean time, you can find us at
http://www.cakesbyhappyeatery.com/.

Emily