Cake Camp 2015 Las Vegas

Cake Camp, the name alone excites me.  Cake, shopping, Vegas... What's not to like?  Green Valley Ranch was a first class resort and everything was very easy and convenient. But I'm most impressed with the California Cake Club for putting on such a high quality and low stress conference!  The ICES convention had, in my opinion, gotten too hung up on protocol and the quality of the demonstrations suffered. Cake Camp was so much more professional and offered almost exclusively hands-on mini classes (3-4 hours) with 8-12 students, rather than 1-hour demonstrations with 50-75 people. The instructors were all world class sugar artists and the best in the business. Plus, the vendors were all decorators themselves and sold only high quality products. I am already looking forward to (and saving $ for) the next cake camp in 2017! 

Another trifecta on the way to Vegas...two bakers baking at our stop in Baker. My assistant Emma was a great travel buddy! 

Ruth Rickey provided an awesome class making gum paste plumeria flowers (obviously, a favorite around here). Thank you for the game-changing tips on assembling sugar flowers!

Below, Ruth's suggested "basic kit" for petal dust. I loved that this is the same way that I store all my colors...I thought it was brilliant when I came up with it. Ha ha! 

My most helpful class was a discussion about booking wedding clients with my new hero Lauren Kitchens from Fancy Cakes by Lauren. She is so inspiring, yet real, honest and down to earth.  Poor Emma got tired of hearing all the advice from Lauren that I plan to implement in the studio this year!  I think I have a little crush. 

We also loved the wafer paper flower class using printed wafer paper and heart shape cutouts. Why didn't I think of that? 

Marina Sousa today from Just Cake instructed us on making a "Chalkboard Cake."  Not a bad first attempt with "Fondarific" fondant made with buttercream... tastes pretty good, but hard to work with.  I can't wait to start experimenting at home. 

The last class was from my local hero, Lindsay Sinatra from A Wish and a Whisk bakery in Costa Mesa. We made a darling mini cake with a ballerina theme: 

Cake Camp was a sugar-coated blast! I am thrilled to be back home, armed with some new tricks to practice in my own bakery. Until next time!

Casa Romantica Styled Photo Shoot

Whenever work takes me to Casa Romantica Cultural Center & Gardens, I welcome the opportunity! On this occasion, I had the distinct pleasure of working with an amazing team of vendors who came together for this elegant styled photo shoot. 

Casa Romantica, with its historic setting and panoramic ocean views, is a photographers dream! Bensten Photography delivered the goods. They captured the elegance, romance and spanish-style details of the property. 

                             

Countless hours of piping, tufting fondant, and sugar flowers were all worth it! I am in love with the finished product.  Makes me wish I could get married again! 

The dessert buffet was a fun chance to employ my collection of antique cake stands.  The small bites dessert trend rages on...guests love sampling mini cupcakes, cake pops and elegant sugar cookies. 

The views, the styling...all breathtaking.  Every detail played off the romance of the setting, with an elegant whisper of the beach setting. 

Introducing, the all-star team that put this beautiful scene together:

Events by Cori 

Bensten Photography

Casablanca Bridal Salon

Friar Tux Shop

Invitation Design Studio

Two's Company

The Tangled Vine

Ceremonies of Significance 

Design Visage

Carbonara Trattoria 

Lake Forest Limousines 

Vantage Point Productions

Signature Party Rentals

Casa Romantica Cultural Center & Gardens

Romance & Rancho Las Lomas

I have been excited about this wedding for quite a while now!  I sketched the design over a year ago on my plane ride back from the ISES cake convention in Albuquerque.  It is so fun to see it finally come to fruition. 

Any event at Rancho Las Lomas is reason for excitement! Nestled under ancient oak and sycamore trees, this open-air theater with a marble ceremonial stage is a spectacular place to say "I do." The Bride chose an elegant spanish-inspired theme and vivid color palette. The effect was nothing less than stunning. Lynne Lucente Floral Designs crafted a dazzling display of flowers for this affair. Every detail was perfect. 

The cake was a show-stopper...a 4-tier buttercream cake with ivory icing and black sugar lace. Borders were piped in icing and hand painted with gold luster. 

Roses were handmade in gumpaste and airbrushed in shades of fuchsia, purple and burgundy, then accented with gold gilded gumpaste leaves. Monogram brooch and jeweled brooches were hand crafted in gumpaste and painted with piping gel.

We wish the newlyweds all the happiness in the world!  Thank you for letting us be a part of your celebration! Thanks for your impeccable taste too...it makes my job so much fun. 

Photo credit: Lynne Lucente Floral Design

Venue: Rancho Las Lomas
Floral Design: Lynne Lucente Floral Design
Wedding Photography: Jim Kennedy Photographers
Catering: 24 Carrots Catering
Rentals: Found Rentals

Rachel in One-dearland

At Plumeria Cake Studio, we love a great party and will go to great lengths to craft a memorable celebration.  This party, however, holds a special place in my heart! We celebrated my adorable niece and the whole family got in on the action!

In case anyone was wondering where I get my artistic ability, this should clear up any mysteries. 

My sister in law wanted to plan an over-the-top awesome first birthday for my niece Rachel and came up with the Alice in Wonderland theme. So once the concept of "Rachel in One-derland" was underway, my mom worked her magic. 

She began with a virtual trip down the rabbit hole!  The side gate to my parents house was transformed into the party entrance which forced guests to walk through the garden. After my dad fixed the path with new pavers (really guys?) my mom added stuffed animals and lots of characters from the Disney version of the story, which she hand drew, painted and cut out of foam core board. There was even a handful of red silk roses tucked into her white rose bushes as if someone had been painting the roses red. But I think my favorite detail was the floating eyes and smile from the Cheshire Cat, the hint that he was about to appear. So cute! 

My sister in law rented tables and chairs to create this long dining table for the Mad Hatter's tea party.  But since my mom is madder than the Hatter himself, she spent weeks shopping at thrift stores and pulled out my grandmother's antique mini tea sets to decorate the long table. The purple-draped table was completed with an artificial turf table runner, lanterns, teacups, books, mini playing cards and fresh gerber daisies. 

The dessert table is where I came in. I created a 2-tier fondant cake with a molded chocolate teacup and saucer. The bottom tier was carved into the Cheshire Cat with a 2-d face attached.  The top tier was the Mad Hatter's top hat.  A few sugar flowers finished off the sweet centerpiece. 

Just a few more details from the party. The full size playhouse in grandma and papa's backyard was transformed into the Mad Hatter Shop, where you could choose a crazy hat or prop for a photo behind one of the handmade photo boards.  Rachel's cousins got in on the fun too. Plus, check out the beautiful chair cover and table skirt that grandma sewed just for the party and the handmade sign-in poster for the guests to stamp their thumbprints and sign.  My sister in law even had a photo backdrop made (check out the background behind my folks below) 

And there's the Queen of Hearts herself: my mom. Only a grandmother with this much love and talent could make a party this special. So now you know...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Being over-the-top is in my blood. 

Happy Birthday sweet Rachel!