"Old Fart" Cookie Basket

Evidently, it is written in the book of life somewhere that you need to be mean to people on their 50th birthday. And hell, who am I to rebuff this time-honored tradition? "Over the Hill" and "Old Fart" jokes are the theses of birthday roasts at this age, and S&V was asked this week to make the Old Fart theme edible.

(Note to blogging self:..."fart" and "edible" should never appear this close to each other again in future posts...may give the health department the wrong impression...but I digress... )

Indeed, it was my mother who commissioned me to do these cookies for my Dad's 50th birthday bash. It wasn't a surprise birthday party (our family gave up trying to keep secrets long ago because we are dreadful "bean spillers"and always blow the surprise weeks in advance). Actually, the kiddo and I were my dad's only birthday surprise this year. My daughter Lilly and I flew from NY to CA to surprise him for his birthday...Lilly babysitting the cookie basket on her lap for the entirety of the 6 hour flight (what a trooper). My dad cried with joy when he saw us...and then looked painfully amused when I showed him the cookies. I think people enjoy giving Old Fart presents more than they enjoy getting them. But regardless, they were a total hit at the party.

"Geezer" Cookie. 

"Aging is a Pain in the A$$"Cookie

Providing Some Explanation...

Hello Kitty Cookie Sandwiches

I often wonder if the Kiddo is going to love or hate the fact that I was always in the kitchen when she was growing up. Having a "Super Baking Mommy" has its perks (an unlimited supply of batter spoons to lick clean) and its pitfalls (Daddy needing to help with homework today instead, because mommy has been burried alive under a couple hundred gum paste roses). Sometimes my guilt over how much time I spend bent over my mixer does turn sweet for Kiddo though. Like today, for instance.

These were waiting on the kitchen table today for Kiddo when she came home from school. No particular reason in mind. Just because.

Sometimes it just feels so good...after slaving away in the kitchen for other people's kids....to take just a few minutes to let your little one know that she's on your mind. Knocking on your heart's door, as always.

Spider Man Birthday Cake

I usually ask people to book me for a cake 6 weeks in advance. Since everything I do is a custom creation, I like to make sure I have enough time to truly give the design (and my customers) my full attention and care.

Yet, when one of my customers asked me to make a birthday cake for her nephew, 2 DAYS BEFORE THE PARTY, I just couldn't say no. I'm a total sucker for the kiddos, and the idea of a kid without a cake on their birthday is my idea of a crime against humanity. And this was the end result.

Golden Tahitian vanilla cake with a pineapple brown sugar filling and S&V Buttercream. The design is done in royal icing, with a tracing and flooding technique. 

 Happy Birthday Tyrese! Hope you enjoyed it.

Uganda Flag Cookies

That's right, folks. You heard it right. UGANDA FLAG SUGAR COOKIES!

Random?... Yes. Yummy?...Yes. For an amazing and totally admirable cause? Yes, oh yes.

I dont know about you, but I definitely don't get orders like this every day. These little yummies were done for a fundraiser/jewelry fair for i.HUG - Help Uganda Grow, a not-for profit that helps disadvantaged and orphaned children in Uganda through education, access to health care and an environment that fosters their physical, social and emotional development. These folks are truly an amazing and very interesting group of people. Check them out!




The design for these cookies includes a sugar cookie cutout of the african continent...

The decorations include a royal icing and decorator sugar rendition of the Ugandan flag, with an illustration of the crested crane (the national bird of Uganda) drawn in Americolor gourmet edible pen.

Rustic Victorian Wedding Cake

Woo hoo! After months of planning and weeks of gum-pasting, gold-leafing and flour-flinging, S&V is finally done with the Bellon's wedding cake. During the initial consult, the bride gave me five adjectives:  "rustic," "whimsical," "victorian," "intimate," and "classic".

And this is what we did with them...

All told, this cake ended up being a couple hundred pounds with it's four fondant-covered tiers and gum paste embellishments. We hand crafted 10 white doves and a birdcage, sculpted over 50 peach and white gum paste roses, and accented the rims of each petal with edible gold leaf to make it sparkle with a warm glow. We also hand sculpted and gold-leafed 8 victorian cameos which adorned each petal on the third tier.  Hours and hours were spent, hand-piping lace with royal icing on the top 3 tiers. 

My favorite part of the cake however, was definitely the locket. Instead of doing a traditional wedding topper, the bride asked me to craft a large victorian-inspired golden locket out of gum paste, and put edible pictures of the couple as children inside. So sweet, (and such beautiful keepsake as well). I will definitely be doing this again in the future!

The fondant ruffles layering the base tier turned out beautifully as well. So elegant. 

 Four tiers of lemon almond cake, with a limoncello syrup and white chocolate and vanilla bean buttercream. I overheard some of the guest calling the cake the most beautiful and delicious wedding cake they'd ever seen or had. A sweet victory for S&V. 

 Out of all of the cakes I've crafted thus far, I think this has turned out to be my favorite. This is not just because of how beautiful it came out, but also because I feel the cake itself ended up truly reflecting the style of the wedding, the bride and the groom so well. Congratulations Katie and Robbie!

6th Grade Graduation Cake

This cake was designed for a graduation party at a charter school in the Bronx, for children who were moving on from elementary to middle school. Such a big transition deserves a big celebration. 

The basic construction is two southern chocolate buttermilk cakes with vanilla bean buttercream, then covered in vanilla fondant in the shape of text books. 

The toppers (of course) were my favorite parts of the cake: a rice crispy treat owl covered in fondant elaborations, and a rice crispy treat apple with a very happy and celebratory bookworm. Look at him! His joy is totally contagious! 

Happy Graduation Day to all of the wonderful kids at Astor Center for Middle Childhood! You've all worked so hard to get to this point and deserve to enjoy your special day. Congratulations guys. <3 All my heart.