baby shower

Two Cake Design Classes and Some New Cakes

We’ve scheduled two classes so far for 2013. Our Tier I: Introduction to Cake Design class begins next Sunday, January 20th. Although this class is a beginner-level class, it’s also perfect for students who have some cake design experience and want to brush up on their skills. We find a lot of our students have already taken the Wilton class (as an instructor of mine once said, “Everyone starts with Wilton.”) but want a more professional-level understanding of cake artistry.

Tier I meets four consecutive Sundays from 10am to 1pm. All materials and supplies are included, and students receive their own piping kit and gel color kit. Cost: $399. Register here.

We also wanted to accommodate people who couldn’t commit to four consecutive weeks, or those who live too far to make the trip weekly. Our Fondant Intensive is designed for students who already have a background in cake design but want to improve their fondant skills. Students learn the tools, tips, and techniques used by professionals to give their cakes a flawless finish and learn ruffles, bows, single-cut flowers, and more.

The Fondant Intensive meets on Sunday, March 3rd, from 10am to 4pm. Register here.

And since no blog post is complete without a few cake photos, I thought I’d share a few recent ones.

Baby shower cake inspired by the mom-to-be’s baby shower invitation:

Zoo Animal cake


Cake for Bride’s Magazine featuring sugar raspberries, sugar succulents, and sugar poppies.

Succulents, berries, and poppies wedding cake by Erica OBrien Cake Design Hamden, CT

Cake covered in rice paper that we cut with a craft punch and accented with some orange sugar ranunculus:

White cake with orange flowers by Erica OBrien Cake Design | Hamden, CT

Please feel free to contact us with any questions about our classes. Hope to see you there!

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Andrea’s Baby Shower

Andrea is married to my husband’s friend Rob. I liked her immediately the first time we met, and more and more every time I see her. She is a class act through and through. Her wedding, which she designed herself completely, was featured in The Knot magazine. The first time she invited us to dinner, she put out her best china and tablecloth (which I promptly dropped tomato sauce on). I thought she was just trying to impress us, but no, that’s Andrea. Just the other night they had us over for a barbecue. Paper plates and napkins? Nope. Not Andrea. Try cloth napkins and napkin rings. (I didn’t stain anything this time, but the baby did manage to grab hold of the salt shaker and pour a good amount of salt everywhere.)

Andrea’s house is immaculate–and not only when she’s having guests over–and she is always impeccably embellished with a coveted accessory like a giant flower or a trendy strand of beads. If you think you could dislike her, in the way that you dislike Martha Stewart for being everything you could never be, you’d be completely wrong. Truth is, she’s clean, perfectly accessorized, and cool, funny, and totally down-to-earth, so it’s impossible to not like her. I guess that’s why she had over 60 guests at her baby shower.

You know those themed parties you see on blogs with all the details and you think, “Come on! That’s not real! No one could ever have a party like that!” That was Andrea’s shower. And if you knew her, you wouldn’t expect anything else. Congratulations, Andrea! I can’t wait to meet baby Amelia.

The color palette:

The details:

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