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¡Fiesta Cakes!

I’m a sucker for bright colors. Seriously, I wanted to wear a hot pink wedding dress, but my husband objected. I would paint the sky purple if I could. And when I was searching through my old photos for this post, I came across these two (pre-Pinterest!) images I had saved for future photoshoot inspiration, because this inspires me:

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Here are a few of the fiesta-inspired cakes we’ve done over the years.

This cake, from just last weekend, featured hand-cut papel picado, fondant peppers, and our interpretation of a cactus.

This cake was for a 90th birthday and was based on the invitation.

I made the cake below for my aunt’s 50th birthday during my edible bunting phase. The papel picado on top was hand cut out of fondant. I loved the hand-sculpted fondant chili peppers at the time, but I think Callan’s pepper interpretation (in the first cake above) is a much improved version.

Colorful 50th birthday cake by Erica OBrien | Hamden, CT

Closeup of the papel.

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I absolutely love this cake, despite its muted colors. I designed it for this photo shoot, a Cinco de Mayo wedding-theme that featured dusty pastels instead of the traditional bright colors. With hand-cut papel picado (this time in ivory) and fondant succulents, for me this cake is a beautiful marriage between traditional Mexican design and southern California design aesthetic. (Photos: This Modern Romance)

I hope these cakes are as much fun for you to look at as they were to make. ¡Fiesta!

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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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Orange Ombré Sugar Hearts Cake

I had no way of knowing when I did this ombré sugar hearts cake for the Wedding Chicks that it would resonate with so many people. It’s got over 89,000 Pinterest pins and even caught the attention of the editors at The Knot. They asked me to replicate it in an orange-into-yellow-into-white ombré. It appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of The Knot Magazine. You can also see it on their website. (The cover shot, below, is by Elizabeth Messina. She’s the one who photographed my interesting-yet-oddly-beautiful-in-the-way-that-only-a-mother-could-love mushroom cake).

Much thanks to my wonderful assistant Callan, who worked so hard on this cake (and the purple one before it).

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