Painting Cake!

When I first met Chantal (one of my boyfriend's classmates), we immediately had one thing in common - a love for baking! Everytime there is a bake sale or a special event, Chantal is always whipping up something delicious!

With her sister's first wedding anniversary coming up, she decided to turn to me! Instead of simply giving me instructions as to how she wanted it decorated, we did a little tag-teaming!

Chantal's sister is a painter and has created some amazing pieces of artwork! One of her paintings is of a sunset in Marseilles, France, where she and her husband got engaged (they also got married in France!). Chantal decided (and I agreed!) that it would be a great idea to recreate her sister's Marseilles painting in cake form, so we did!



After we painted the cake, we added a wooden picture frame to complete the whole painting look!

Here's a picture of the cake next to the actual painting!



Chantal's sister and brother-in-law loved the cake!! It was the perfect way to celebrate their first wedding anniversary!

To see more paintings, visit http://www.wix.com/DominiqueCze/Dominique

Pretty Flower Cake!

Being given creative control over a cake is always a great experience! Even though it's so much fun to be able to make whatever you want, sometimes figuring out what you actually want to make can be pretty challenging!

This past week I was given creative control over a birthday cake. The only instruction I was given was that the birthday girl loves the colour red!

Seeing as it's summer and we're in the middle of a heatwave, I thought a bright, cheery, summery flower cake would be perfect for the occasion!





It's always fun to be able to surprise someone with the design of their cake, and the birthday girl loved it!!! Another birthday surprise success!

Black and White Sweet 16 Cake!

Sweet 16 cakes are always a blast to make! This one was no exception!

The birthday girl's mom explained that there was no set theme for the party per se, but that the colour scheme was black and white with some pink touches here and there! That was pretty much all I needed to know before getting to work on the cake!

Instead of zebra print or polka dots or stripes, we decided to try something new and different for a unique Sweet 16 cake look!







It turns out that the cake matched the colour scheme perfectly!

Here is a picture of the beautiful table setting!





Everyone absolutely loved the cake! Not only was it a success at the party, but it was also something different for me to add to my expanding cake portfolio! :)

Picnic Cake!

When my friend Emily's mom was to host a picnic themed luncheon for her co-workers, she knew that a cake specially designed to match the picnic theme would be just perfect! To get this task done, she turned to me!

When I was told that I could have creative control, I was SO excited to create the cutest little picnic scene in cake form!

Here it is!







The picnic featured on this cake includes a blanket, cooler and plates of chips, watermelon, grapes, bread with cheese and meat, and of course, cupcakes!

Everyone absolutely loved the cake! It fit the theme of the luncheon perfectly (I got to sneak a peek of the setup beforehand!)!

The upside to hosting a picnic themed luncheon indoors? No ants! :)

Father's Day BBQ Cupcakes!

There are few things in life my dad loves more than the grill, so with Father's Day approaching, I knew I had to incorporate the BBQ into his special Father's Day cupcakes!









Even though it was Father's Day, we put my dad to work at the BBQ for dinner, so these adorable little cupcakes were the PERFECT dessert to end my dad's special BBQ themed day!



Needless to say, he absolutely loved his custom cupcakes! It was indeed a happy Father's Day for my dad! :)

Flower Cupcakes!

My parents, unfortunately, are not so blessed when it comes to eyesight! So whenever it's time for them to get a new pair of glasses, I'm always brought along to give them a helpful opinion!

Both of my parents have gotten numerous glasses from the same place, so when it was time for them to get new pairs, we knew exactly where to go!

Since my parents always get their glasses not only from the same store but from the same woman as well, we thought it would be nice to surprise her with some delicious cupcakes to show appreciation for all the help she's provided to my visually impaired parents!

Here they are!



She (and the rest of the ladies working that day!) absolutely loved the cupcakes and couldn't wait for a coffee break to sneak a taste of the special treat!

Sometimes, a pretty little cupcake is the perfect - and yummiest! - way to say thanks!

Jeopardy Cake!

What do you get when you mix a 60th birthday bash with a Jeopardy wiz, a loving family, and (of course,) a cake?

This!





A Jeopardy cake!!

I was asked to make this quiz-show-themed cake for the 60th birthday of a huge Jeopardy fan! I made the stands with the the family members' names on them, and once I delivered the cake, they placed pictures of themselves behind the stands!

Truly the perfect cake for any Jeopardy lover out there!

Designer Cake!

When my friend Emily asked me to make a cake for her friend Daniela's birthday, I immediately knew the direction that the design of the cake was headed towards! Her friend Daniela enjoys the finer things in life when it comes to clothes and accessories so Emily wanted her birthday cake to reflect that side of her.

After lots of brainstorming, Emily decided that a birthday cake with a bright and floral Lilly Pulitzer print would just be perfect for Daniela!

Here it is!





The bright and summery colours and big flowers matched the print of the dress perfectly!

Oh, and of course Daniela LOVED her birthday cake! :)

Flower Cake!

Ever since I've started this cake decorating journey, I'll jump at any chance to create a custom cake to help make an important occasion that much more special! With my boyfriend's mom's birthday coming up, I knew it was yet another great opportunity to make a beautiful cake to help celebrate her special day!

After talking with my boyfriend about possible cake design ideas, I realized he wouldn't be much help, so after lots of solo brainstorming, I came up with this!







I decided on a light pink cake with a white and black flower - something simple and elegant, something she would just love!

Though by now all of my family and friends expect a custom cake by me for their special celebrations, it's still nice to see how surprised they are when they finally get to see what the cake actually looks like!

Another cake, another success!

Shopping Bag Cake!

In Montreal, every girl knows that one of the best places to shop is Holt Renfrew! From makeup and handbags to jewellery and clothes, Holt's is known as the high-end retailer!

Since it's such a landmark for every shopaholic, I knew it wouldn't be long until I would make a Holt Renfrew shopping bag cake, and here it is!







The cake was for a 30th birthday celebration! The birthday girl also recently had a baby so I added a silver Tiffany baby spoon (since Holt's is home to Tiffany's!) falling out of the bag.

Holt Renfrew, Tiffany & Co. and pearls - the perfect combination for a shopaholic's ideal cake!

Doctor Cake!

Since I’ve started this cake decorating journey several months back, my boyfriend has been leaving me less than subtle hints about what kind of cake I would be making him for his birthday! For the most part, he has been dying for a hockey cake, but unfortunately for him, I've stripped it from my cake repertoire. Instead, I found the perfect replacement!

My boyfriend is currently in medical school, so I decided that his birthday cake should reflect this other important aspect of his life (besides hockey!).

Here’s how it turned out!







I had SO much fun making the little pills, (bloody) band-aids, stethoscope and of course, the essential reflex hammer (which I actually find rather amusing in real-life too!). And obviously I had to throw some chest hair into the mix also!

He absolutely loved his cake!!!! Plus, it was chocolate cake with Oreo buttercream frosting - what's not to love??

A Special Surprise For a Milestone Birthday!

Unfortunately for me, a significant part of my family lives out of town in Toronto. This means that we are rarely able to celebrate important family events as a complete cohesive unit! The fact that my mom, my dad and I have different work schedules doesn’t help the situation either – making it difficult for us to get away together to visit the family.

However, with a huge family milestone coming up, my parents were planning a quick weekend trip to Toronto. The milestone? My Grandfather’s 85th Birthday!

Since it was a BIG birthday, my dad and his two sisters in Toronto were planning to throw a party to celebrate the occasion!

One of my aunts had the idea that even though I wouldn’t be able to make the trip, I should make a surprise birthday cake for the event, and send it off with my parents! I was so excited that although I was not able to be there in person, I would be able to contribute one of the most important elements of a birthday party – the cake! Not to mention, my grandparents have been two of my greatest supporters throughout this whole experience, so I knew that having me make the birthday cake would mean so much, not only to me, but to them as well.

Before my grandfather retired, he worked as an engineer at Bell, so although I immediately nixed the idea of a phone cake when my aunt brought it up, I went along with it anyway!

Seeing as my grandfather, grandmother, dad, and aunts were one of the first families to test out the fashionable “Princess” phone, my parents thought it would be fitting that I make an exact replica of the one they used to have in cake form. So I did!









The pink Princess phone – like the one my family used to have! – was vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. It sits next to an old Bell Telephone book, which is chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting (I come from a long line of chocoholics!). Next to the Bell Telephone book, I placed a fondant message pad with a Happy Birthday message on it, along with a fondant pen!

I was so happy to be able to take part in the family celebration through my custom cake. Even though I wasn’t there physically, my grandfather would know that I love him and that I was thinking about him on his milestone birthday!

25th Anniversary Cake!

When my friend Emily asked me for a last minute 25th anniversary cake for her parents' friends, I was definitely up for the challenge, even though I had another HUGE and VERY important order to work on!

With the deadline only days away, here is what I came up with!



The cake was vanilla with chocolate frosting and I covered it in light blue fondant, with white and yellow polka dots, and a yellow 25 brushed with silver to emphasize the milestone anniversary!

Black & White Beauty!

As you can see from going back to older blog posts, my friend Jaclyn and her family have done a great job at sustaining and expanding my cake portfolio! With HER birthday fast approaching, I knew I had to make something really special!!

During one of our many coffee dates, I took mental notes about what kind of cakes she recently loved when watching “Cake Boss” and other such shows, so I knew a while in advance what kind of cake I really wanted to make for her!

As her birthday drew near, I didn’t know if Jaclyn wanted to design her own birthday cake, if her mom would pick for her and make it a surprise, or if I could surprise BOTH of them and execute my very own cake design idea! After telling Jaclyn that I had the most PERFECT idea in mind, she decided to let me have creative control and surprise her!

Here is what I came up with!







This black, white and gold cake was PERFECT for Jaclyn! It was simple yet beautiful, classy and elegant all at the same time – just like her!!

Though it was hard for Jaclyn to LET me surprise her, I think that the end result was definitely worth the wait!

Happy Mother's Day!

Even though I had 4 other orders due this weekend, I knew I wanted to do something special to celebrate mother’s day!

I decided to make simple yet beautiful and elegant flower cupcakes to show my appreciation for the special ladies in my life!

Here they are!









Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!! :)

A Walk on the Wild Side!

With the continuing popularity of the animal print cakes, I was not surprised in the least when I got a request for a leopard print cake for a 15 year old girl’s birthday celebration!

Though I absolutely love doing the zebra print, it was nice to try something new while keeping the same animal print theme alive!

Since leopard print consists of black and different shades of brown, I was asked to top it off with a pretty pink bow, since the cake was, of course, for a teenaged girl!

Here’s how it turned out!





Everyone absolutely loved the cake, and it's always nice to get the chance to try something new!

A Special Birthday Treat!

During the week (when I’m not trapped in the kitchen!) I work at an elementary school. One of my co-workers - and her family! - has been following me on my cake journey every step of the way! With her daughter’s 10th birthday coming up, she knew that the celebration would not be complete without a custom cake by me! She decided that she wanted both her daughter and herself to be surprised by my cake creation so she left all of the decorating details in my hands!

Here’s what I came up with!





Instead of the usual birthday gift style of cake, I wanted to do something a little different! I came up with this new custom cake in order to give her daughter a cake design that no one else has had yet!

They both LOVED it!!! I was so happy to be able to play a small role in the birthday celebration! :)

A Trip to India!

As you can probably already see, my family has done a great job at promoting my cakes - even from far distances! A while back, my aunt in Toronto told me to expect an e-mail from her friend here in Montreal regarding a cake, and alas! The e-mail arrived!

My aunt’s friend wanted something special for her niece who was about to celebrate her 25th birthday. Seeing as her niece was to leave for India a few days after her birthday, she thought that something India-themed would be suitable for the occasion. Knowing that I could not possibly pull a Taj Mahal cake off, I went the “inspired” route instead!

The birthday celebration was to be rather small, so instead of dealing with lots of leftover cake (since most of the people attending don’t even eat cake!), I was asked to make a dozen cupcakes instead!

Here they are!







The end result was a truly India-inspired batch of cupcakes!!