old new borrowed blue

Sometimes My Favorite Part of the Cake Isn’t Even the Cake

Posted on June 13, 2010 by Erica OBrien in cake topper, calla lillies, old new borrowed blue, photography, vintage | Leave a comment

I loved everything about this cake. I really did. I loved the tatooed bride. I loved the bride’s mother. I loved the vintage color palette of olive, coral, and peach.

I loved the venue–La Palapa in Long Beach. And I loved the fondant calla lilies on the cake.

But the thing I loved the most was the cake topper. It belonged to the bride’s grandmother who used it at her wedding. The bride’s mother used it at her wedding too. And the cake topper, with its silk flowers, delicate porcelain couple, and still in its original box, would now be used for the third time by the bride. It was my favorite part of the cake.

I am grateful to Ramon Felix of Ramon Felix Photography for sharing his beautiful images.
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Cake How To: Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Erica OBrien in cake design, for the baker, for the bride, old new borrowed blue | 1 Comment

Years ago, I made this cake with purple hearts strung on ribbon. It was on my website for a while until I finally got sick of it or was embarrassed by it, I can’t remember which, and took it down.

(“Oh, but Erica,” you say. “How could you be embarrassed by such perfection? Such genius?” Look closely. See how the edges are rounded? How light in color the top two tiers are? How the sides of each tier bulge out? That’s how.)

I did the purple heart cake many years ago, and I totally forgot about it until recently when I saw a similar cake on Eat Cake Be Merry. I’ve wanted to do an Old, New, Borrowed, Blue cake for a while, so I thought I’d revisit my original design.

A few simple steps include:

1. Color fondant and cut out small discs. (I used the second smallest cutter in the Ateco round set.)

2. Trace cutter onto paper to create template.

3. Determine where holes should be.

4. Mark holes on fondant discs with pointy object. (I used floral wire.)

5. Make holes using tip # 4 (or larger) while fending off baby Mia.

6. Allow discs to dry overnight or longer. Then string onto ribbon.

7. Use FMM Tappits to cut out letters. (Tappits can be very hard to work with. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the post for some tips and tricks.)

8. Fend off Mia again.

9. Apply to cake with royal icing and enjoy.

This cake won’t make it to my website–it was much cuter in my imagination–but it’s nice to see how much my work has improved since the purple heart cake.
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