jimmy cakes - custom cakes for central virginia

jimmy cakes is on hold

2011-08-21T21:21:00.003-04:00

Dear Friends, Followers, and Potential Customers,

I regret to inform you that jimmy cakes will be taking a break for a while as my wife and I prepare for the birth of our first son. Things have gotten pretty hectic around here and it is difficult to try to fit any cakes in. I appreciate your patronage and interest in jimmy cakes. I hope to one day in the near future begin taking orders again!

Thank you all!

Jim

Wine, Art and Weddings!

2011-04-10T19:42:00.004-04:00

I really enjoyed getting to do this wedding cake. The reception was held at Lynchburg's Academy of Fine Arts downtown, and it was amazing. The decorations and tables were set beautifully and I was excited that jimmy cakes could be a part of this event. In the foyer, there was an artisan show with various pottery creations mixed right in with the hors d'oeuvres - so cool!

The cake flavors were chocolate raspberry and marble alternating tiers with buttercream icing. The chocolate raspberry tiers also had a vanilla mousse filling. I enjoyed doing this cake and wanted to stay for the reception, as a local jazz band was getting set up for the reception!

Little Boy Blue...

2011-04-10T19:21:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I was able to do this cake for a friend's baby shower. The event planner told me that she had purchased some toille fabric which was a light blue for the tablecloth, and they were hoping to incorporate nursery rhymes into the event. I wanted something simple that would transport well (2 hours away) but that would still feed 35 people. I settled on this 12 inch round cake. This is a yellow cake with buttercream icing and filling.

Around the bottom, I wrote out the names of different nursery rhymes to give it a unique touch. I tried to find some that were boy-ish, and tried to space them out correctly (worked pretty well!). This was especially helpful because this cake was definitely tall (I made the layers pretty thick).

On top, I drew out some simple pictures of popular nursery rhymes such as Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and Hey Diddle Diddle. In the center I piped a monogrammed V for their last name! This cake was fun to do, although I did have to google some nursery rhymes (I couldn't think of enough to go around the bottom!).

That's a lot of cupcakes!

2011-03-30T19:00:00.003-04:00

This was the largest cake order I have done in my jimmy cakes career, and it was a lot of fun! Hours of measuring, mixing, baking, and decorating produced over 25 dozen cupcakes for this March wedding!

There were four gourmet cupcake flavors - Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Raspberry, Coconut Cream, and Strawberry Cheesecake. These flavors were pretty much created for this particular wedding, as the bride sent me a list of flavors she would like to try. Basically, the bride said that she wanted guests to be able to look at the cupcakes and know what they were picking up.

Above we have a cookies and cream cupcake, which is a vanilla cake with finely crushed Oreos in the batter itself. Topped with plain white icing, some crushed Oreos and a 1/4 Oreo.

Above is a chocolate raspberry cupcake, which is a chocolate cake batter with real raspberry fruit in the batter, topped with buttercream icing and a fresh raspberry.

Above is a coconut cream cupcake, which is a coconut cake with finely chopped coconut flakes in the batter, topped with coconut buttercream icing and freshly toasted coconut flakes.

Above is a strawberry cheesecake cupcake which is actually a cheesecake cupcake with freshly chopped strawberry pieces in the batter, topped with strawberry buttercream and a sliced strawberry.

Snakes and Snails, and Puppy-Dog Tails - It's A Boy!

2011-02-26T16:58:00.003-05:00

Had a lot of fun doing these cupcakes for a baby shower today! These organic vanilla cupcakes were delicious (had to alter my normal recipe slightly to make them organic - which if you know me, changing recipes can be a small 'challenge'). The customer provided me with an invitation to show the colors and design they wanted me to match, and this is what I came up with.

I custom made all the decorations for the toppers out of card stock and scrap-booking supplies I had at my house. This was a cheaper option than making them all edible, and I was able to do more with them because they weren't made out of chocolate or gum-paste... I was really happy with how they turned out.

Valentine's Day = Chocolate!

2011-02-26T16:50:00.002-05:00

My office had a staff Valentine's Party last week (post Valentine's Day) and I whipped up these non-cake treats everyone to enjoy. These marshmallow pops are covered in milk chocolate and non-pareils. I had no idea they would taste so deliciously yummy! I was so happy with how they turned out! For those of you health conscious/crunchy folks, you can use organic chocolate chips, and can get all natural marshmallows (I got mine from Whole Foods).

The process was more difficult than I imagined, but not overly complicated - just time consuming. I put the popsicle sticks in the marshmallows, then dipped them in a bowl of melted chocolate chips. Since these were not the normal 'chocolate' wafers you would use for candy, the chocolate was thicker and I had to use a spoon to cover the entire marshmallow. Afterwards, I used the back of the spoon to smooth out the chocolate then put on the red non-pareils right away before the chocolate started to harden. I put them on a wire rack to harden then stuck them in the freezer for a few minutes, but the chocolate hardened around the wires and it was difficult to get off... I think next time I will let them harden on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Vroom, Vroom!

2011-02-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity to let my imagination run wild (and it felt like a V-8) for this Cars cake. Combination of portion controlled cupcakes as well as an 8 inch cake made this the perfect combination for a birthday party! I knew I wanted to do something tall, but it had to transport well, as the family was traveling to NoVa for the party. So I wanted most of the cake to be on the base, and make it easy to stack.

I cut out the Cars Logo, the flags and the road sign from gum paste (made the tires that the flags are sticking in from gum paste too), then hand painted the sign and flags with food coloring.

Overall, this cake was SO much fun! I loved doing it and including little details like the traffic cones, and the trophy cupcake. I really had a blast making this cake!

Tut, Tut, Looks like a Shower Cake

2011-02-11T23:00:00.005-05:00

This cake was such an experience! Almost a disaster, twice, but it came through! This home-made marble cake with buttercream icing featured hand-piped chocolate figures you can see throughout the photos. I imagined this cake a month ago, and had it all worked out, but it didn't work out quite the way I planned. In the end, it came together, but was probably the second most stressful experience so far!

The tree topper was made from three 6 inch cakes that I shaped and then decorated to look like a tree. I put dowel rods in the tower shape, but disaster #1 happened when the entire thing fell and hit the counter. I had to scrape off the icing and re-decorate it. Then after I fixed it, I brought it out to take pictures, as you see here. Right after I took pictures, I was removing the tree topper to put in a box and the cake slid off and hit the table again. Hence disaster #2. The customer was standing right there when it happened and busted out laughing - which helped alleviate my stress!!!

Since I had to cut out part of the cake, I had to ice cupcakes to make up for some of the missing servings. These cupcakes were a last minute resort, but a cute addition to the cake.

80 Years Young

2011-01-29T11:25:00.004-05:00

My Grandfather turned 80 years young this past weekend, and we had family from all over the country fly in to Richmond, VA to celebrate. While it was wonderful to all gather in Richmond, I forgot how bad the roads on 64 are, and needless to say traveling over 2 hours with a cake in the trunk - amounted to a very stressful ride :) I was afraid to look at the cake when we arrived, but it made it! We had family come from California, Wisconsin, Minnesota and all over Virginia to celebrate this special patriarch!

For the cake itself, I chose Orange Dreamsicle for the top tier, and Choclate Raspberry for the bottom tier - white icing on the outside. The '80' on top were hand piped chocolate that I then sprayed with edible food coloring to make them silver, and I used wire and a thick dowel rod to make the swirly things. The theme of the cake centered around my Grandfather's life. All the symbols were pictures that represented parts of his life. On the front I included an Air Force symbol - as my Grandfather served in the Korean War, and the symbol for the Mason's which my Grandfather has been an active part of for many decades.

On the top right you can see the shape of Wisconsin, which is where he was born and raised and where most of his family now resides. Below you see a motorhome trekking across the country, which he and my Grandmother did a few years ago.

Towards the back of the cake I drew a wrench - as my Grandfather was a mechanic for majority of his career, and a shamrock for his Irish roots - McDonough after all is undeniably Irish!

Lastly, I included a block of cheese - as he is a avid Green Bay Packer's fan, a fish to represent one of his favorite pass-times, and Virginia which is where he has spent the second half of his life and where he resides.

This cake was so much fun to do, and I had many more ideas of pictures to put on the cake which I forgot when I was actually decorating it. The cake was a huge hit and SO delicious!

Anticipation and Beyond

2011-01-29T11:15:00.003-05:00

Laurie Flower of Anticipation and Beyond hired me to create customized treats for some potential customers. These carrot-cake cupcakes were made from scratch, as all jimmy cakes' cakes are, and were topped with buttercream icing. I piped out white chocolate squares by hand, then once they hardened, I flipped them over and piped her logo out onto each one. Voila! - a customized marketing 'favor' for potential businesses and customers (and these are tastier than paperweights or letter openers!).

Wedding to the Beat of Their Own Drum

2011-01-14T12:38:00.004-05:00

What a fun experience for me! I was contacted by Krystal and Jared who were looking for something different for their small, yet intimate and personalized wedding. Jared is a professional drummer, and Krystal suggested doing a cke which looked like a drum. Through our interactions, we developed the idea of doing cupcake drums with a monogram on them and little drum sticks to match the cake they would cut.

The design for both the cupcakes and the drum cake were a lot of fun, and took a lot of time. Each little drum top on the cupcakes had to be painted with a monogram, edges and bolts piped on and then I had to dip 110 little drumsticks in the coloring. The brackets on the drum cake had to be sprayed with an air-brush after they were molded and had hardened.

The reception was held at Liberty University's Snow Flex Lodge and was certainly an intimate setting. The relaxed yet personal atmosphere made this a unique and special wedding reception. Congrats Krystal and Jared, and thanks for allowing me to be a part of your special day - it was an honor!

Winter can still be yummy!

2011-01-14T12:31:00.003-05:00

I few weeks ago I was contacted by a potential client who was throwing a birthday party for their mother-in law. She loves cardinals and wanted to have a wintery-themed cake with a cardinal and 'snow' on it's back. The inspiration for the design was based on a Christmas ornament photo that she sent me (included below). This was a chocolate cake with white icing. I searched online for pictures of a cardinal and then drew the bird on the cake with a toothpick. I was pretty excited about how it turned out, and the family seemed to really enjoy it as well!

What's all the Buzz about Megan's 1st Birthday?

2010-12-23T17:47:00.002-05:00

This will go down as one of my favorite cakes of all time I think. I made this for my niece's 1st birthday party. I was planning the cake for quite some time and drew it out a few months ahead of time. I have to say it turned out just as I imagined, if not better. While Megan won't remember this whimsical cake, I will for sure. The bees, number 1, Winnie the Pooh and the Hunny Pot, are all made of colored and piped chocolate. I found this amazing technique on another blog and had to try it out. The bees are then attached to wire that I bet around dowel rods to give them the look as if they were buzzing and flying around.

I bought the cake stands off of Amazon, as they match the whimsical nature of the cake. As I was planning this cake I just kept picturing them on these stands, and I am so glad I bought them. The bottom of this cake was made from scratch organic red velvet cake with buttercream icing. The filling was a white chocolate buttercream filling which I also made. This was so moist and delicious. I was so thrilled with how it turned out!

The top tier was a yellow cake with a strawberry buttercream filling which I also made myself. It was the perfect combination of flavors as well! So moist and yummy! I have a serious affinity for strawberry anyways!

Here is the birthday girl herself who was thinking about eating her cupcake. It mostly just got messy as she removed all the icing from the cupcake. She didn't really eat any of it and her mommy had to feed her a little bit of the cake... Overall, this cake was a great success and definitely yummy!

Last Minute Wedding

2010-11-15T20:48:00.001-05:00

This cake was sort of a last minute deal; I stepped in for another cake decorator and sought to provide Matt and Kimberly with the cake they were looking for. This simple yet elegant cake is iced with buttercream icing and topped with beautiful roses which make it pop! Thanks guys for letting me do this cake for you, and congratulations!

It's Hip to be Square

2010-10-24T19:01:00.002-04:00

This weekend, I was able to do this wedding cake for Christin and Joel. Their French themed wedding, was so cool! All over the reception location (the Parlor, downtown Lynchburg) there were amazing touches of France. This cake seems fairly simple decorations-wise, but it was the first square cake wedding cake I have done before, which was a little nerve-racking. It is also the first cake that I stacked before transporting, which was also nerve-racking. Thankfully, it worked out well!

I was shocked when I arrived and saw fresh flowers for the cake, which I didn't know about until I showed up. I am so glad that this couple chose fresh flowers, which I thought were the perfect touch as opposed to a traditional topper (which was what I was expecting to find upon arrival). I am really happy with this cake, and was thankful for the opportunity to decorate this cake!

A Cake to Remember

2010-10-24T18:45:00.005-04:00

I can't begin to express how thrilled I was to get an e-mail from an employee of Centra Health asking me about doing the cake for their annual 'Walk to Remember'. This event is held in conjunction with RTS Bereavement Services and is held in memory of those who have lost a child either pre- or post- birth. Some of you may know that I volunteer with a local grief counselor organization helping kids who are grieving the loss of a family member or friend. Needless to say this holds a special place in my heart. On top of the cause, the employee listed off a few of the decorators they have had in years past, including Coffey Cakes, Gypsy Baker, and What a Blessing Bakery in Amherst. I am ecstatic to join the ranks of these amazing cake decorators in my area.

I did two cakes that looked virtually identical. I only took a picture of one, but am hoping someone at the event took a picture, in which case I will add it to my blog at a later date. One half sheet was a chocolate cake with an Andes mint filling, and the second was a vanilla cake with lemon buttercream filling. Both were iced with buttercream icing.

Leave me out of it...

2010-10-19T12:30:00.004-04:00

I was thrilled to do this wedding cake, delivered to DeVault Family Vineyard in Concord, VA this past weekend. It was another neopolitan cake with Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla tiers and buttercream icing.

Each of the leaves I made by hand, and this was a long process, actually about 5 different steps. After I found the cutters for the leaves, I was trying to find leaf veiners to put the indentations on them. After several hours of searching for the right ones, I came across a blog which gave instructions on how to make your own. So, I went out into my back yard and picked a few different types of leaves. I then made molds of each of these leaves, baked them, then made negative impression molds and baked those too.

After I cut out the gum paste leaves, I pressed the molds/veiners into the leaves and let them dry. Then I brushed on edible color powder and then airbrushed the edges and stems with edible coloring to add extra dimension. Lastly, I steamed each of the leaves and left them to air dry over night. Below are the pictures after I steamed them.

As I mentioned before I am not the biggest fan of cake toppers, but I am also including a picture of the cake topper for this cake, as it is the completed product. I don't think you can tell in this picture, but I offset the cakes to the left since I knew the topper would be pretty tall as well, and thought the branch would fill up the right side... I was very happy with this cake, and am thankful that set up went well, etc.

With all the right tools...

2010-10-19T12:20:00.003-04:00

So, while this cake is not totally original (recreated one of the first cakes I did), it was still really fun to do and recreate. Learned a few things since last time, which was over a year and a half ago! This was a chocolate half sheet cake with buttercream icing. The tools are not edible, but are actual toys that Kasey gets to keep. Happy Birthday Kasey!

Back to my roots (or branches) - finally a cake!

2010-10-10T09:52:00.004-04:00

This week I have been working on this wedding cake for a couple getting married in Concord, VA yesterday. This four-tiered yellow cake with buttercream icing is adorned with homemade gumpaste flowers and a fondant branch.

The bride wanted blue-green flowers (but more blue), and a black branch, but didn't know what type of flowers she wanted. These are the ones I decided to go with, and I made different combinations and different sizes so they would look more natural. After they have dried, I used a steamer to steam the flowers and the branch - giving it a shiny look, and really making the color 'pop'.

I was pretty nervous about the topper that they were going to provide, and had no idea what it was going to look like until I showed up to set up the cake. I decided to take pictures before I put it on, just in case I didn't like the topper on the cake. I seem to have a strange aversion to toppers for some reason. I suppose I am just picky and want the topper to match the cake in design and quality, and sometimes they certainly don't.

Funny story about setting this cake up... As I was finishing up, an elderly relative came up and greeted me. When I asked what she thought of the cake, she replied "It's getting there...". Not certain how to respond, I didn't. After a moment, she said "It is certainly different..." and I replied with "Yes, it very modern." I wasn't really sure what to say, and I was chuckling to myself as she walked away...

jimmy scones...

2010-10-02T17:36:00.003-04:00

So today, I got another baking urge, and decided that today I would try my hand at scones. I made two types - chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar. They actually turned out very well, and are absolutely delicious!

Both types are completely organic, and the recipe made 6 of each type. The cinnamon sugar ones have cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, apple pie spice, and I sprinkled organic turbinado sugar on top. The chocolate chip ones just have organic chocolate chips :)

Not Cake, but still jimmy cakes!

2010-09-29T15:35:00.004-04:00

I don't know if you are like me or if I am just weird, but every now and then I get this strange urge and have to bake something right away. Usually when this happens I begin a frustrating search for some recipe that looks good and doesn't require me to make a trip to the grocery store. As you probably could guess, I don't always accomplish that goal and end up settling for something 'normal' and not 'new' or 'exciting'.

Well, today I got that urge and started my usual process of looking through books and web pages trying to find a recipe that accommodated my pantry... I ended up trying a new recipe I got last Christmas but didn't try. I made (mostly) organic vanilla cookie sandwiches and made a cream cheese filling to go between the layers. Since I am sitting here with a sweatshirt on, I decided to make them fall themed cookies.

This Is So Last Year...

2010-09-29T15:27:00.003-04:00

So, last year I did a wedding cake for Mary and Shawn, and their one year anniversary was rapidly approaching. Mary contacted me because their cake topper was not properly stored and didn't make it... She was hoping to recreate the top tier for her husband as a surprise for their one year anniversary. So, although it may look and taste the same as it did a year ago, I recreated Mary and Shawn's wedding cake fresh and new this year.

12 Dozen Minis = 1 Big Order!

2010-08-25T23:13:00.008-04:00

This most recent order was for 12 dozen mini cupcakes for an event at Liberty University's School of Law. There were four different flavors of cupcakes: chocolate with chocolate icing, strawberry with strawberry buttercream icing, spice cake with cream cheese icing, and almond with almond buttercream icing. Each of these were made entirely from scratch, as all jimmy cakes orders are. Check em out below!

I grated a frozen Hershey's Chocolate bar on these!

Sprinkled cinnamon on these!

Blended strawberry puree in this icing!

Placed sliced toasted almonds in these!

Ready, Aim, Shoot!

2010-08-17T00:04:00.005-04:00

This camera cake was made for none other, than our very own Sabrena Deal of S. Carter Studios, my most faithful customer! :) This was however the first cake made specifically for her. This was a strawberry cake with whipped buttercream icing. The camera theme was picked by her husband, Josh, for obvious reasons!

I found this picture online of this old-school Canon camera, and attempted to recreate it on a cake. The lens is actually a cupcake, and I tried to match up the details as closely as I could.

I had a lot of fun doing this cake, as I learned photography on a camera similar to this one, and to this day only own Canon cameras. Not to mention, I LOVE strawberry cake! Win Win Situation for all involved! Happy Birthday Sabrena!

An Extra Cool, Ektrakul Wedding

2010-08-13T17:26:00.004-04:00

I had a lot of fun being a part of this really fun wedding! I was recently able to do 150 monogramed cupcakes for Solomon and Angi Ekrakul (pronounced like 'ektra cool'). There were three flavors: chocolate, vanilla, and carrot cake, and all of the monograms were hand piped from melted chocolate.

There were four different letter 'E's with different shapes and styles. I got pretty nervous though because when I started placing the monograms in the cupcakes, the humidity started melting the letters. Thankfully, it was cold at the reception site, and I was able to salvage them!

The stand was made by the brother of the groom, who was recreating a soccer stadium. He first made a template out of cardboard and finished this actual stand the night before the wedding!

French Elegance

2010-07-14T16:59:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I was able to do the cake for a life-long friend, Courtney, who is now Mrs. French. The cake was created from a number of different ideas that Courtney and I compiled into one big cake. In fact, this is the biggest cake I have done yet.

We tried to combine several ideas, scrolly designs, Swiss dots, monogram and fresh flowers, and the colors of the wedding were black and white (although the bouquets were brightly colored flowers - hence the colored daisies). I jokingly called this cake my Neopolitan cake, because the three flavors were chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. The strawberry tier had strawberry puree mixed into the buttercream filling which was heavenly (I had two pieces!).

Courtney and Grant had a beautiful wedding, and enjoyed the cake that they smashed into each others' faces! I was thankful to be able to be a part of their special day!

Dan and Traci's Big Day

2010-07-11T17:25:00.003-04:00

I had a lot of fun doing this cake! It is unique and I liked doing something a little different!

The wedding colors were peacock blue and gray, so I alternated the colors on the various tiers - the cakes with gray ribbon had peacock blue Swiss dots, and vice a versa. The flowers were made out of gum paste (thank you Alisha for helping me make all of those!). All the cakes were chocolate with buttercream icing.

Mini Cupcakes and Mini Davies

2010-07-11T17:14:00.005-04:00

Our dear friends, the Davies, are having twins! My wife and Sabrena Deal of S. Carter Studios worked and planned a baby shower for Mrs. Davies, and my wife actually make this cake below. I have to give her 'props' because I think it looks pretty amazing! She said this is the kind of cake she could do!

My role was to make some mini organic spice cake cupcakes with organic cream cheese icing (something I could do). These bite-sized bits of happiness were just the thing for this well-planned baby shower!

Congratulations Davies!

An Officer and a Gentleman

2010-07-11T16:56:00.004-04:00

My friend James was graduating from Liberty University's Seminary and will be a Chaplain in the Army. His wife enlisted my help in making a special cake for his graduation celebration. She sent me pictures of James' dress uniform and I went to work replicating it.

The name tag, buttons, bar and sleeve/shoulder epletts are all made of gum paste, and they are as close to the original as I could make it!

This is one of my favorite cakes and I was so glad to be able to do it! Thanks and Congrats James!

Keeping Up with the Jones'

2010-07-11T16:48:00.003-04:00

I was able to do this joint graduation cake for Jordan and Rachel Jones. Jordan was graduating with his Masters in Religious Education with a concentration in Old Testament and Hebrew, and Rachel was graduation with his Bachelors in Family and Consumer Sciences.

This is a half sheet cake and half of it is chocolate, the other half vanilla. Buttercream Icing! The Bible, artist palette and tape measure are made of fondant. Had a lot of fun doing this cake for this very special couple! Congratulations guys!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Have Made A Comeback!

2010-05-02T21:58:00.004-04:00

So, I was super excited about doing this cake, as I was an avid fan of TMNT when I was growing up. I probably had 50 different turtle action figures, and several cartoon movies. Anyways, when my co-worker asked about making this cake for her son's 5th birthday, I was like, DEFINITELY! So, this is an 8 inch strawberry cake with buttercream icing and fondant decorations. This is the first strawberry cake that I have sold to a client, and did a test-run last week. It was fabulous if I may say so without sounding arrogant! :)

I made each of the heads individually, and had to tint and roll out each of the colored bandanas. I cut out the eye holes and then filled in the eyes with icing. The logo and manhole are also fondant.

Pioneers Club End Of The Year Party

2010-05-02T21:49:00.002-04:00

The children's ministry at Redeemer Presbyterian Church here in Lynchburg, VA uses the curriculum of a program called Pioneer Clubs. Tonight was their last meeting for the summer, the big bash, and I was able to be part of that special night! This was a big order - a cake to feed about 50 AND 50 cupcakes.

The cake was half vanilla and half chocolate, and all the icing was buttercream. For the logo, I looked up the original online and then freehanded the logo onto the cake!

Here are both halves of the order. 50 cupcakes and a half sheet cake. This was a big order, and I obtained the assistance of my wife for this! She helped with the baking and cleanup! I will admit it was a lot easier having someone help me measure out the ingredients and help wash the dishes afterwards (ridiculous amounts of dishes - believe me!). Thanks honey!

It's Herbie... The Love Bug

2010-05-02T21:42:00.003-04:00

This cake is an 8 inch square chocolate cake for a 18th birthday party a few weeks ago. I used buttercream icing tinted different colors to make the design. This actually has 9 different colros that I had to mix and bag separately to make this cake. The birthday girl is nicknamed 'love bug' and loves Herbie! I dropped it off the night before the birthday party but got a text message before I got back home saying they just couldn't wait and had already eaten part of the cake... :)

Wedded Bliss and Cake

2010-04-21T21:44:00.003-04:00

I was able to do this cake last weekend for a wedding here in town. Each tier was homemade yellow cake, with plain white icing. The ribbon colors were chosen to match the bridesmaids' dresses, and the monogram was made out of gum paste which I painted with gold coloring.

Trailer Park Tragedy

2010-03-27T10:24:00.010-04:00

No, I am not making fun of anyone who lives in a mobile home, so let's just get that out there before I begin. :) This cake is for a birthday party, where the guests are participating in a murder mystery dinner. The theme of this murder mystery is... you guessed it... 'Trailer Park Tragedy'.

I have been imagining this cake in my head for weeks and I think it turned out pretty close to what I had in mind. The cake is funfetti cake (birthday boy's favorite) and all the icing is buttercream.

I bought the car at the dollar store, and then removed the wheels. Made little cinderblocks out of fondant, but wanted to include the tires too. This was originally a Jeff Gordon race car, so I had to remove a few stickers and the spoiler. Although when I dropped the cake off and saw the NASCAR posters everywhere, I was thinking I might have left them on the car.

The shutters were another little detail I thought might bring this trailer to life. Couldn't resist making it look a little run down...

I made the tv antenna out of paperclips and black thread. Thought it might add a nice touch, although I don't think they will get HD channels with this.

Overall, I was pretty happy with this one, and it was fun seeing it come together. Happy Birthday Peter!

Wahoo for Birthdays

2010-03-13T20:11:00.004-05:00

This cake is a new one for jimmy cakes; it is a homemade lemon cake with homemade lemon icing (not too much lemon, but just enough). This 8 inch cake was ordered by a member of my church, who was hosting a birthday party. In my previous post, I discussed a contest that Sabrena Deal had on her blog, and this customer found out about my business through Sabrena's blog... hope you had a chance to check it out!

WAHOO!

My Shameless Plug

2010-03-12T11:06:00.002-05:00

So a few weeks ago, my dear friend and entrepreneur, Sabrena Deal put up a blog post about my little business and offered a dozen free jimmycakes cupcakes to the winner of a random drawing of those who commented on my cakes on her blog (lots of prepositional phrases there). There was a lot of great feedback and a winner was selected! Sabrena has been responsible for really helping me grow my business, not only in offering me awesome advice, she has ordered a number of cakes you see on my blog (and some I don't have up). I cannot thank her enough for her support and patronage. So, my shameless plug is for her photography business. My wife and I have personally gotten pictures from Sabrena, and they are incredible! I cannot encourage you enough to contact her about some incredible pictures of your family, wedding, special event, etc. She has a great new thing too; A photo booth she can set up for your next event with special props and costumes - SO AWESOME!

Here is her website and blog and you can find her fan-page on Facebook too!

www.scarterstudios.com

www.scarterstudios.com/wordpress/

Wish I could offer a free shoot to a randomly selected comment on this post, but that might be a little difficult... Please go check out her sites!

Bridal Showers are for the Birds

2010-03-09T11:07:00.005-05:00

I made this cake for a bridal shower today. The bride loves strawberry and funfetti cake, so the top layer is funfetti and the bottom is strawberry. I made buttercream icing, then tinted it to a daisy-ish yellow. The bride's colors are yellow and orange, and my dear friend planning the shower wanted orange Gerbera daisies on the yellow cake. She provided me with the birds you see on the top (purchased at Michael's), but was imagining them sitting on a branch of some type, so I made a little branch out of fo

ndant for the 'love birds' (or the 'birds of love' as my friend might like to refer to them) to sit on. I made the daisies out of gum paste, and then hand painted the orange coloring on them. I really like the way this turned out and I hope you do too! Congrats Angi and Solomon!

Grenadenhaver...

2010-02-05T16:09:00.006-05:00

This cake was a lot of fun to make. This HALO 2 inspired cake for a good friend attempts to capture the essence of his playing style. Without fail, before death each time, old Grenadenhaver never fails to launch a grenade, typically taking out his enemies... This was a chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I used a grater to make the cake crumbs and then dried them in the oven to make them appear more like dirt. The grenade is hand made out of fondant. I really love this cake! Also, I got a piece of this one, which doesn't happen too often!

Baby Cakes...

2010-02-05T14:29:00.005-05:00

Staff party at my work! One of our counselors is 8ish months pregnant, and we wanted to celebrate. What better way to celebrate than with cake?!? Half the cupcakes were chocolate again and half were white cake. The pacifiers were made out of white chocolate in the same fashion as the hearts on the engagement cupcakes. The icing on all of these cupcakes is buttercream icing, tinted various colors.

Engagement Cupcakes

2010-02-05T14:22:00.005-05:00

I made these cupcakes for our office staff meeting... We were celebrating all the people in our office who are engaged. Some of the cupcakes are chocolate and some are vanilla. The icing is chocolate cream cheese, and the white hearts are made of white chocolate. I melted the chocolate and then piped it into the heart shapes. Once they cooled, I piped little hearts on them, then placed them on the cupcakes. Overall, I was happy with how they turned out...

Stand Aside Peppermint Mocha...

2009-12-18T00:41:00.006-05:00

When I think of winter and Christmastime, I think of peppermint... don't ask me why, but I do. There is nothing better than stirring a cup of hot cocoa with a candy cane, only to dissolve it into a peppermint chocolatey goodness... I attempted to recreate a little taste of that last weekend.

I used chocolate cupcakes in all-natural baking cups, and made a homemade peppermint cream cheese icing, then crushed up candy canes and placed them atop... instant homemade goodness...

Everything's Bigger in Texas

2009-12-10T18:08:00.008-05:00

A few months ago, I was approached about doing a special Groom's cake that would be shaped like Texas. It was going to need to feed about 200-300 people, and after my initial meeting with the bride and her mother, we had a few key details planned out.

I made a template for the cake, but the cake would only feed 140 people with the size I made it. It actually worked out very well because the couple only ended up having one reception as opposed to the original two receptions. All in all, it took 5 sheet cakes, and 12 batches of icing to make the cake, in addition to a few details in fondant.

The cake was a chocolate cake with butter cream icing. The boots, star, lasso, and city sign were made of tinted fondant. This cake was a lot of fun, but it was also a big challenge too! After I had already gotten the cake halfway decorated, I realized it wasn't going to fit through the doorways in my home. Let's just say my wife and I were holding our breaths as we tilted the board to a 45 degree angle and went very quickly...

Thanks to Stephen, Leslie, and the Parks' for allowing me to be a Texas Sized (and shaped) part of their Big Day...

Welcoming Megan, Two by Two

2009-10-26T10:48:00.008-04:00

This past weekend, my wife helped plan a baby-shower for my sister, who is due in December. I can't wait to be an uncle! My niece's name will be Megan Olivia, hence the title of this particular post!

At first, we were thinking I would do a Winnie the Pooh cake, but as time progressed, I began to develop an idea for a Noah's Ark cake instead. I got different ideas from a variety of cakes, and them compiled them into what you see here.

I used gum paste to make the water, the ark, the animals, and the rainbow on top. To do this, I had to separately tint each color, and then cut out the shapes to make the animals. This includes the dots for the giraffes, the mane for the lion, and the ears for the elephants. I made the ark in three pieces, and after they dried a little, I attached them. I read that you can paint on fondant with vanilla (just add some food coloring to clear vanilla), so I painted some of the boards on the ark to give it extra depth.

The water, I left a little bit marbled so it would look more natural. I brushed pearl dust on the rainbow, so that it wouldn't be so loud, and would fit better with the more neutral/pastel colors on the majority of the cake. I used candy sticks wrapped in ribbon to hang the animals around the cake.

The top tier is a white cake, and the bottom is chocolate. I used buttercream icing for the whole thing instead of tinting the icing pale yellow (which is what I was planning to do). Overall, I am thrilled with this cake, and had a lot of fun brainstorming how everything would work. Everyone seemed to love it, and I love that!

Lets Celebrate Fall!

2009-10-18T22:44:00.007-04:00

"Don't you just love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies... if I knew your name and address I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils..."

Every time I think about fall, I think about curling up with a blanket and watching You've Got Mail! My wife and I wait all year for fall, and we decided we wanted to throw a party to celebrate this wonderful time of year. We had a lot of treats at our party including caramel apples, mulled cider, homemade apple pies, cheese and crackers, onion torte, pumpkin cheese ball, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and spice cake treats shaped like pumpkins.

I got the idea for the pumpkin shaped spice cake treats from a Southern Living magazine, but didn't want to spend the money for the special Wilton's pan they used. I ended up using a mini-bunt pan and made icing instead of glaze. the stem and leaves are made from individual caramels that I softened and then shaped how I wanted. I used a paring knife to get the lines and detail on them. I think they turned out well, at least for my first attempt. I will definitely be making these a tradition!

Organic Doesn't Mean Yucky!

2009-10-12T00:49:00.007-04:00

I am very excited to share that I have made my first ORGANIC cake (well, 90% organic). I was asked to make a special cake to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, which is today, October 12. The customer was a very good friend, and she also loves organic food. She wanted me to make some sort of spice cake, and didn't really have a preference on the icing. I ended up making an organic spice cake, and made organic walnut cream cheese icing. It was a perfect combination (well, so I have been told). In fact, my friend, who isn't much of an icing fan, says she thought it was the best icing she had ever tasted and she loved it! I was SO thrilled to hear that, and will absolutely be making this recipe again.

I wanted to keep the decorations simple, and used organic walnuts as a major part of the decoration. I used half-pieces for the bottom border, alternating them, so that it formed a unique pattern. I then used the remainder of the broken pieces to fill in around the top of the cake. My friend didn't really want the Canadian flag on the cake, so I decided to do an assortment of fall leaves and acorns, similar to the fall cake I did a few weeks ago for the Fall Photography Forum. I made three shades of brown, and alternated them to pipe on the leaves atop of the cake.

So, now you know for a little extra, I can make your cake organic! And remember, just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's yucky!

Black and White and Red All Over

2009-09-26T23:50:00.005-04:00

I made my first Wedding Shower Cake yesterday. A member of my church was hosting the shower for her sister-in-law, and wanted to make sure the colors matched the colors of the bride's wedding, hence the red and black.

The bottom tier is chocolate and the top is vanilla. The decoration was fairly simple, and I made the bow as well. The monogramed topper was provided by the couple purchasing the cake, and I think it turned out well!

Fall Photography Forum

2009-09-19T23:48:00.020-04:00

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine contacted me about a special project she was working on. She has been doing photography for about three years now, and her business is booming; she decided to host a photography forum. The forum focused on how she has been able to develop her business. She recruited me to help provide some of the refreshments for the occasion. I was very happy to oblige, and began working on what I would bring.

Being an amateur photographer myself, I attended the forum as well. I was excited to be in attendance, and walked away with a lot of good information, not only about photography, but about small business ownership too. As a shameless plug, my friend's name is Sabrena Deal, and you can check out her website at www.scarterstudios.com Please don't miss the opportunity to check out her work.

For the forum, I made several specialty treats. There was going to be about 12 individuals in attendance, and I decided to make a two tiered cake. The top tier was a 7 inch chocolate cake (my personal favorite), and the bottom layer was a 9 inch Red Velvet cake (as requested by Sabrena.) Both came out really well, and since the theme of the forum was "Fall", I decided to decorate the cake in similar fashion.

In addition to the cake, I also made five dozen Orange Blossoms (another personal favorite). These are made in a mini muffin pan, and then I made some fresh orange glaze and drizzled the glaze over the blossoms with a spoon. (mouth watering...)

These are Creme De Menthe brownie bites with melted chocolate and a little powdered sugar on top. I hadn't really made these for someone before, and so I am glad they came out well. Overall, I feel these treats were a big hit, and I was thankful for the opportunity to expand my portfolio and get additional experience. Thanks Sabrena!

Again, don't forget to check out Sabrena's website: www.scarterstudios.com

A Special Cake for their Special Day

2009-09-04T16:12:00.007-04:00

A good friend of mine contacted me a few months ago, when I was just starting to do cakes. She asked if I would be willing to do her wedding cake, and after we discussed what she was looking for, I agreed. I am so glad I did. I am excited to say that I have finished my second wedding cake, and was able to pull it off without any major catastrophes.

Mary was looking for a three tiered cake with these special scrolls on each tier. She saw a picture similar to her idea but the scrolls were in buttercream on a white cake, and she wanted to go with their black and white theme. I suggested we seam the cake with black ribbon, which I thought would look very nice.

The bottom tier is chocolate cake with a mint filling. The middle tier is a vanilla cake and the top is regular chocolate with white icing as the filling. I admit that I have never done a cake with this type of decoration, and I was a little leery of doing so. I practiced on a piece of paper what I would be doing, and it turned out well when I drew it out. I drew the design on the cake with a dowel rod, then filled in the design with the piped icing. Again, I am happy with how it came out, and hope you enjoy it as well!

Congrats Mary and Shawn!

Birthdays and Bulldogs

2009-09-03T22:24:00.008-04:00

Today I made a birthday cake for a die hard University of Georgia fan. His wife contacted me about making a the UGA cake, and wanted something to do with the logo. I found a picture of the bulldog head, and I practiced drawing out the logo on a separate piece of paper. When it didn't look half bad, I decided to proceed with my plan.

The cake is my 'signature' chocolate cake (I love calling it that) with homemade icing. I made two 9 inch rounds and cut each in half, making four layers instead of just two (MORE ICING!!!).

I grabbed my drawing and the original and drew the image onto the cake with a sharpened dowel rod. I then filled in the markings with the icing I mixed up. I am really happy with this cake, and the birthday boy loved it too (thankfully!). :)

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

2009-08-29T09:22:00.006-04:00

I made this cake for a friend's birthday. It was a homemade mocha cake with tinted icing. I used two six inch cakes, a cupcake for the head, and mini cupcakes for the exterior of the shell. It was a lot of fun, especially since I found out I was making the cake the same day I made it. :)

When I grow up, I want to be a firefighter...

2009-08-09T14:09:00.005-04:00

Since I started doing cakes. I have been dreaming about a fire-truck cake. I know that may sound a little strange, but I have really wanted to do one. I got the chance this week. Although this makes the fourth cake I made in three days (CRAZY)!!! I survived to tell the tale however! I had a great time doing this cake. I used two quarter-sheet cakes and then made a batch of gum-paste for some details (lights, windows, wheels, water, fire hydrant, ladder, hose). The cake is a home-made yellow cake and I used home-made tinted icing. Thanks Jenny for letting me do this awesome cake for you!

My First Wedding Cake

2009-08-09T13:40:00.010-04:00

A few months ago, I met with my friend Linley, to design her wedding cake. She showed me a picture of her mother's wedding cake, which was three tiers and covered in fresh daisies. She then showed me another picture of a cake with daisies on it, which was a little more modern; the daisies on this new cake were made out of gum paste. Based on the number of people attending the wedding, we decided on a four tier cake with little sprays of daisies from top to bottom. I wasn't sure how I was going to do the daisies at that time, and had several ideas. After testing and deliberation, I decided to use gum paste daisies. Both the top tier and the 10 inch tier were made of white cake. The 8 inch was mocha, and the 12 inch was Funfetti (at Linley's request). I had a lot of fun doing this, and was extremely happy with the outcome!

VMI Groom's Cake - Go Keydets

2009-08-09T13:19:00.006-04:00

Besides the wedding cake I was able to do for my friend Linley, I also made a Groom's Cake for her new hubby. He went to VMI, and Linley wanted to have a special VMI cake for him. The cake was actually lemon with the same home-made white icing that I used on her wedding cake.

Harry Potter + Power Puff Girls = Potter Puff

2009-08-09T13:04:00.014-04:00

One of my friends contacted me about a birthday cake for her sister, who used to cover her textbooks with little drawings of puff-esque characters. One such example was Potter Puff.

Originally she wanted to see if I could put Harry's head on the cupcakes, and I suggested we just do a cupcake cake with the whole image. She loved it and the rest is history.

I used Funfetti cupcakes with home-made white icing. I mixed each color from the original white icing, drew the image on the iced cupcakes, then filled in the drawing with the various colors.

an elephant never forgets...

2009-07-31T21:43:00.015-04:00

So, I got to make the elephant cake last night... It was a difficult cake for sure! I started with two six inch and two eight inch cakes. I cut three of the cakes in half to make the cake taller (making the three cakes - six layers). I trimmed each as I stacked them, shaping them for the main body (kind of a half football shape). I then took the trimmings and set them back on the cake board to make the hind legs. I used additional trimmings for the front two legs. I iced the cake as I went.

The head was difficult to say the least. I used the remaining six inch cake for the head. I cut out a head-shape and tried to sit it on a very small board supported by dowel rods. This was working until the entire thing started to fall off after I iced it. I removed the head and came up with plan B. I re-attached the head with additional supports, then made the ears and trunk out of fondant. After attaching these pieces, I had to let the cake dry for a few minutes. I then proceeded to air brush the entire thing (Thank you Christine!). I was happy with the outcome, and apparently the recipient loved the cake as well. It was delivered this morning and I was told it was a big hit.

ooo-ooo-aa-aa

2009-07-07T23:49:00.010-04:00

Monkey Cake Anyone? I teamed up with a great friend of mine to do a very special cake for a very special one year old named Brinley. His mom always calls him her little monkey, and the invitations to the party gave us the inspiration for this cake. Sara, my friend, made the two quarter sheet carrot cakes from scratch with all-natural ingredients, and also made cream cheese icing from scratch as well.

We met to discuss the cake, and came up with a design that really combined both of our ideas. We decided to take the two cakes, and cut three or four inches off of both of them, and then stack the four pieces to make a 3-D cake. We then took fondant and colored it green for the palm tree leaves. We used Pirouette wafers from Pepperidge Farm for the tree trunks around the outside of the cake, and mini cupcakes (also carrot cake) for the two main trees in front. We colored additional fondant and made all the pieces of a monkey which we assembled later. Sara cut out all the leaves and then proceeded to put lines in each leaf to give it texture. Meanwhile, I tackled the icing of the cake itself. The weight of the cake caused some serious issues, and even the dowels I was using to support the top section were leaning and causing problems. I got it to work, and then finished icing the cake. We attached the Pirouette's and then started attaching the leaves. Sara rolled out little vines while I started putting our monkey together. We got everything done just as the party started, and from start to finish put about four and a half hours into the cake.

The Big Five - O

2009-07-05T23:00:00.009-04:00

So several months ago, I started thinking about this amazing cake I wanted to make for my dad's 50th birthday. I drew it out, and started thinking about how exactly I was going to do this cake. I started doing some research about fondant icing, because I had never worked with fondant before, but thought that it would really add so much to the design. I decided that I would go ahead with the fondant, and started buying the supplies that I needed (thank heavens for Michael's 40% off coupons!).

I drew out the cake again and again, and was falling in love with it more each time I did so. I had it all in my mind - three tiers: bottom tier would be Nascar, middle tier would be Harley, and top tier would be golf.

Total time in this cake was about 12 hours from start to finish, but I was so excited about how it came out. Can't wait to do more Fondant Cakes!

My Birthday

2009-06-06T22:51:00.002-04:00

So, still looking for golden opportunities to do some cakes, I decided to do a birthday cake (for myself). I was going camping with a lot of my family, and so I really wanted to do something in that realm. I was inspired by a kit that our bakery sold, and the ideas kept coming. I made a quarter sheet cake (9x13 inch) and turned it upside down on a covered board. I whipped up some homemade vanilla icing, then mixed in some colors for the majority of my cake. I mixed some blue, green, and brown and started icing the cake. I had a great time doing this cake, and it tasted soooo good!

Jack Bauer is my Hero

2009-05-20T23:54:00.007-04:00

I made a special cake for a special event - the season finale of Fox's Hit TV series, 24. I have followed this show for years, and have seen every episode of every season. Why shouldn't I honor this, the last episode, with a specialty cake??

Graduation

2009-05-11T22:31:00.005-04:00

So, I know that it may be a little strange to make cakes for yourself, but why pay someone to do something you can do yourself? Plus, I needed the practice. So, I decided to make my own graduation cake. My favorite type of cake is strawberry cake, so I decided to do a three tier, nine inch strawberry cake with homemade buttercream icing (with real butter).

I wanted to decorate the cake with black icing, hoping it would match the buttercream, and I wanted to do those fancy squiggles on the side. I practiced ahead of time, and they came out great, so I was excited to do them on my cake. Before decorating the cake, I took a sharpened dowel rod and drew on my designs. Something looked a little different, but I still thought it looked cool, so I went with it. Overall, the cake came out fairly well, and it tasted heavenly.

Groovy Cupcake Cake

2009-04-30T00:07:00.007-04:00

This was a lot of fun to make! This is a cupcake cake I made for a joint birthday party. These two girls were both turning 13, and wanted something fun! I have never made one like this before, and will definitely do it again!

How it all began...

2009-04-15T16:58:00.004-04:00

Welcome friends! Let me begin by telling the tale of how this whole thing got started. I work at a local bakery and was recruited to decorate cookies shaped like gingerbread men. I had a blast doing this, and found that I wasn't half bad either. The cake decorator spotted my work, and was excited for me to try cake decorating. She began showing me basics after work (with permission of course) and I picked it up very quickly. I began helping to do cupcakes and a few cakes, and when our cake decorator was unexpectedly hospitalized, I was called in as the back-up cake decorator. I had so much fun, and did a lot of different cakes. I did a monster truck cake, a High School Musical cake, a cake with a dirt bike track around it, birthday cakes, a football cake, and the list goes on. I have put a few pictures of these first cakes online. When our cake decorator returned, so did my normal non-cake related duties. I was a little sad, and decided to make them for friends and still help out whenever our bakery needed me. I have been blessed to do a variety of cakes thus far, and am excited to see where this will go!