Mmmeliacakes!: Custom Cakes For Every Occasion!: 2009

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Calculator Cupcakes

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Funfetti

Last week, I threw a surprise party for my Calculus teacher (a. because we all love him, b. because he's been mad at our class for weeks and we thought it could get him to like us again, and c. because we didn't want to do work on a Friday.) Since I've already done a calculator before, I decided to go with a spin on one. He loved it!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

FIRST EVER WEDDING CAKE!

FLAVORS:

Devil's Food Cake with Vanilla Icing

Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake with Buttercream Icing

Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

OCCASION: Wedding!

The bride, Christie, contacted me months ago to ask if I would make wedding cupcakes for her special day. She found me via Cake Wrecks! I happily agreed. I don't know why Christie and her now husband were willing to put so much trust in a seventeen year old girl, but I'm so glad they did!

The "cake" consisted of 192 cupcakes and an 8-inch anniversary tier. Each cupcake was made fresh and from scratch and topped with a candy leaf. Each leaf corresponded to a different flavor cake. I practiced out recipes for weeks to prepare--everyone in my school has now gotten overloaded with sugar treats for my experiments.

After 17 hours of non-stop baking and decorating, 30 eggs, 168 ounces of candy, 10 pounds of flour, 8 cups of butter, and 16 dozen cupcake liners, I can now say I've successfully completed what I hope won't be my last wedding cake. Send me your feedback :)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Bridal Shower Cupcakes

OCCASION: Bridal Shower
FLAVOR: Funfetti

I made these mini cupcakes for a wedding shower in my neighborhood. Each flower uses a different tip. I'm new to icing roses, but they were really fun to play around with.

Maryland Terp Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Funfetti

My friend Maya recently started college at the University of Maryland. Her parents hired me to make a cake that they could bring up to her at school. This cake is based off of the UMD logo.

Beach Cake

OCCASION: Going-Away Party
FLAVOR: Vanilla Cake with Caramel Filling

My friend Alana was celebrating her going-away to college (in California) with a beach themed party. I used brown sugar for sand and fondant for all of the other decorations. For the bottom cake, I used a new cake pan that creates a heart-shaped cavity in the middle for fillings. We chose to fill the cake with a caramel icing mixture.

Topsy Turvy Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Yellow

So all last year, I promised my friend Ellen I would bake her a belated birthday cake to make up for missing her birthday over the summer. Well, a full year later, and her birthday was on the day she started college. So I realized that not only did I have to make up for last year's lack of cake, I had to make one for this year's birthday as well. I decided no one cake would do, so I combined her love of fashion and color to make a crazy, topsy turvy cake. The cake is three tiers tall and slanted each way so that it is still level at the top. I've seen these on TV all the time, and it was fun to try making one myself!

Lacrosse Cake 2

OCCASION: Lacrosse Team Party
FLAVOR: Chocolate

I was hired to make this cake by an Internet follower. The stick of the lacrosse is shiny because I used special silver shimmer powder on it. The only side effect of this was that I looked sort of like the Tin Man once I finished the cake. This is similar in style to my previous lacrosse cake, with a substitution of frosting instead of fondant for the strings to make it tastier as well as neater.

Club Penguin Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Oreo

So my friend, Chelsea, LOVES penguins. I decided to model her birthday cake after the cartoon images from the website/game Club Penguin. The pink sunglasses are an inside joke--I always keep a pair of neon pink sunglasses in my car for my passenger to wear while I drive.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Converse Sneaker Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Devil's Food

So three months ago, my best friend celebrated her 17th birthday. I, of course, had planned on making her the above cake and giving it to her on the big day itself, but she was at a convention for her BBYO chapter. (NOTE: I had known I was going to make a Converse shoe for her since her 15th birthday. I plan ahead.) Anyways, so after her convention, I got really busy, and I didn't have time to make a cake. Then, she went to summer camp for the entire summer, and I knew I had to finally get her the long-awaited birthday cake she deserved. So I made this cake with her boyfriend and we sent it up with a camp counselor in a tiny Converse shoe box covered in tissue paper. It was a very special delivery!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Homework Evidence Cake

OCCASION: Threadcakes Contest
FLAVOR: Yellow

NOTE: This entry cannot be possible without a plethora of links. Bear with me.

So at 4 PM on August 3, I found out about the Threadcakes cake contest via CakeWrecks. The contest deadline was midnight the same evening, and, being a lazy teenager in the summer, I decided to go for it. The contest was to interpret a Threadless t-shirt design into a cake. I decided (in my almost insane mind) that I would make TWO cakes, this being one of them. It's based off this tee. I covered the dog-shaped cake in black fondant and used dark blue and white fondant to replicate the shapes. For the x-ray lines, I used thin lines of light blue icing. These cakes were definitely a challenge: with less than ten hours to make two cakes, get ingredients, and feed myself like a healthy person, I had to work fast. Luckily, I had a few friends over for moral support/photography--the entire cake process had to be photographed for authenticity. This was a really fun experimental cake!

The Apple Shaving Accident Cake

OCCASION: Threadcakes Contest
FLAVOR: Yellow

This is the first of my two entries into the Threadcakes contest (refer to the description above.) It's based off of this tee. I layered a small square of fondant where the "peel" would be so that it could peel back and look as if it were actually peeling off a layer of cake. The sugar-stubble was rolled into the fondant prior to covering the cake. The longer "furs" of the apple were made out of thin lines of icing. I really enjoyed making this one :)

This Aint No Funky Reggae Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Vegan Yellow Cake with Buttercream Icing and Sliced Almonds

This cake was a last-minute request. My only requirements were to make it Vegan and in the shape of a J. My friends came over to assist me, because they knew the recipient of the cake and I did not. Upon hearing that the recipient's 2 favorite things were beer and music, we incorporated those into the cake as well. Somehow, we landed on a theme of "your birthday in space!" and ran with it, leading to this psychedelic birthday cake.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Butterfly Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Strawberry

This cake was made for a friend at school, Ceci. The smaller butterflies were made out of candy that I melted and molded to the butterfly wing shape. The cake itself was entirely icing. It was refreshing to try a non-fondant cake for once!

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Chocolate

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Ambulance Cake

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OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Oreo

I made this cake for Cheryl, my first ever internet follower cake! She's an EMT at a fire station in Montgomery County, Maryland.

P.S. check out the new layout, designed (again) by Daisha. She's great at photography and web-design--see for yourself at http://www.dlifefulphotography.blogspot.com/

American U Cake

OCCASION: Graduation
FLAVOR: Funfetti

This cake was made for my friend Phil, who graduated from high school last month and is attending American University this fall.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Fightin' Blue Hens Cake

OCCASION: Graduation

FLAVOR: Strawberry

I made this cake for another graduate from my school, my friend Nicole. She'll be attending University of Delaware in the fall, so this cake is the fighting hen, Delaware's mascot!

Future Terp Cake

OCCASION: Graduation
FLAVOR: White Cake with Green Sprinkles

I made this cake for my best friend Alan, who recently graduated from high school. Our school colors are green, black, and white, and he will be attending the University of Maryland next year. I decided that rather than making a traditional graduation-themed cake, I would personalize it by showing his transition from a Raider to a Terrapin.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Hangman Cupcakes

OCCASION: Random
FLAVOR: Pink Lemonade

I made this cake for some of my friends after an inside joke we had about hangman. I made one of each letter so that everyone in our class could (try) to play a real game with it. This would have worked, except people kept eating the letters! Still, I like the idea of having interactive cupcakes.

Love Cake

OCCASION: Religious Education Class
FLAVOR: Funfetti

I made this cake for the last meeting of my religious education class. I came up with the expression after one of our meetings, and I thought it seemed encouraging. Although this isn't my usual style, I still wanted to feature it on the site.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Giraffe Cake

OCCASION: Birthday
FLAVOR: Chocolate Chip

Sorry it's taken so long! I've been having computer troubles, but here's the latest cake! Due to popular request, I have replaced my usual foil with plain white posterboard. Also, I will provide more description for each cake in my posts. This cake was for my brother's 24th birthday. It's a big inside joke in our family that he wants to have a baby giraffe, so it seemed entirely appropriate. I used yellow cake with mini chocolate chips so it had a giraffe effect inside and out.

Thank you to everyone who has given me support, advice, and feedback in the last few weeks! It really means so much to me!

-Melia

P.S. Like the new header? It was created by blogger Daisha Sheets. She's a really talented web designer. Visit her site at www.jranddaisha.blogspot.com!